


A Chimera's First Heart

by Auddieliz09



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Mild Smut, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:00:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auddieliz09/pseuds/Auddieliz09
Summary: Theo wouldn’t go so far as to say that everything is perfect in the months after the War, but, for him, it’s just about as perfect as his life can get.However, when someone from his past shows up on Scott's doorstep, Theo's life takes a new turn. But will it be for better or worse?
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 80
Collections: Thiam Big Bang 2020 Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xTarmanderx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTarmanderx/gifts), [ExtraSteps](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraSteps/gifts).



> Not gonna lie, guys. I'm super nervous about this one. I've been sitting on this idea for years and this Big Bang finally let it see the light.  
> I hope yall come to love my oc as much as Theo and I do.
> 
> For Tara and Alicia, who took one look at my secret fic and demanded more <333
> 
> HUGE shoutout to Tara for being the best artist/beta reader/cheerleader/brain cell sharer a girl could ask for!! I love you, darlin!
> 
> Her amazing art can be found here: https://xtarmanderx.tumblr.com/post/635061743478079488/part-one-of-my-art-for-the-truly-incredible  
> And here: https://xtarmanderx.tumblr.com/post/635062011085094913/part-two-of-my-art-for

Theo wouldn’t go so far as to say that everything is perfect in the months after the War, but, for him, it’s just about as perfect as his life can get. But really, considering the alternative is literally hell, one could say it doesn’t take much. He has a home, an actual home, with the most beautiful boy he’s ever laid eyes on. The boy who saved him from his own damnation. The boy who gave him a second chance. And for the first time, he took the opportunity to help without demanding something in return, without stabbing anybody in the back, and it had felt good. Liberating him in a way that taking power from his own betas never had. When he pushed Liam into the elevator and used himself as bait he finally understood, for the first time, what Scott and his pack were all about. Why they put themselves on the line over and over for the godforsaken town they lived in. Saving someone was a rush that no amount of killing could replicate. 

He couldn’t quite bring himself to care about anyone besides the beta who’d saved him, though. Not really, not at first. It was such a novelty. All he’d ever cared about before had been his own survival. He’d learned the hard way that caring for someone else was to give others power over you. Real pain is emotional pain. And it takes a long time to bury that kind of pain. But, against his better judgment and personal self-preservation instincts, he found himself caring about Liam. And eventually, he started to care about the things Liam cared about, too. Inconvenient as it might’ve been. That’s how he found himself fighting beside an alpha and werecoyote who hated him; he couldn’t let Liam be lost in the Wild Hunt. That’s how he found himself sleeping in his truck in a town filled with people who hated him; what if Liam needed his help again? That’s how he found himself in an abandoned zoo and boys locker room, preventing Liam from killing two kids who fancied themselves hunters; he knew Liam wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he’d killed them. He tried to take pain from Mason, he rushed to the hospital after Scott called him for help, he  _ did _ take pain from the hunter who’d shot him not five minutes before. All because he’d begun to care. Not just about Liam, but the little beta was at the center of it all. 

When they left the hospital that night, Liam had looked at him in a way he never had before. Like he was seeing Theo for the first time without his past hanging over him. He was seeing Theo for the man he was trying to become. A man worthy of being his friend, maybe more. Theo became an official ally to the pack and began to hang out with Liam and his friends. 

When Liam found out that Theo was living out of his truck, he immediately told his mother, and together they bullied Theo into moving into the spare bedroom of the Dunbar/Geyer house. Jenna Geyer didn’t know about Theo’s past. All she knew was that Theo was a teenage boy with no place to stay and, without a second thought, she opened up her home to him. Theo doesn’t believe in God, but he knows angels are real. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for her or her son.

If he still feels a tug in his gut to get the hell out of Beacon Hills, he’s the only one who has to know.

*

The first person Theo apologizes to is Liam, of course. It happens at night about three weeks after he’d moved in with the beta and his family. Liam wakes him from a particularly devastating nightmare, saving him, once again, from his sister. As Liam comforts him in his strong arms Theo remembers all the terrible things he’d manipulated the other boy into doing. He knows he deserved his nightmares. He pushes Liam away.

“Don’t,” he growls at him. “Just go back to bed, Liam. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think you will. And I’m not leaving.” Liam growls back. “Theo, you wouldn’t have these nightmares if you haven’t been through some shit. You don’t have to tell me what they’re about, but you will accept my help. I don’t have to come in here when I hear your heartbeat speed up and your breathing gets heavy, you know.”

“Then why do you??” Theo cries.

“Why do you keep saving me?” Liam counters. Theo looks away from him. “I asked you once, but I never got an answer. Not a verbal one, anyway. You kept saving me because you care. I’m here for the same reason.”

“How, though,” Theo wonders, watching his fingers playing with a loose string on his blanket. “How can you care about me after everything I’ve done?”

Liam places a finger under Theo’s chin, lifting it so their eyes meet. “You’re different since you came back. You've done a lot of good things. You care. That matters an awful lot. If you could go back to being the old Theo, would you?”

Theo pauses, taking in the moment they’re in. He’s sitting on an actual bed in an actual house. He’s staring into the bluest eyes, set into the most beautiful face he’s ever seen. He knows there’s nowhere else he’d rather be than right where he’s at. He also knows that old Theo would’ve never gotten this close to Liam. Never even would’ve gotten the chance. With that thought in mind, he slowly shakes his head so as not to dislodge the finger under his chin. 

Liam releases a breath neither of them was aware he was holding, then he grins. Theo feels his stolen heart thump heavy in his chest.

His grin softens, and he asks, “Do you think you would take it all back if you could?”

Tears sting Theo’s eyes. “In a heartbeat.” He whispers as the first tear falls. He thinks of all the things he’s done, all the people he’s hurt and let down. “I hate that I ever hurt you, Liam. I’m so sorry. For everything. For everyone. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.”

“As my brilliant best friend once told me, if you start with sorry, the rest probably won’t even matter,” Liam tells him, cupping Theo’s face in his palms, wiping his tears away with his thumbs. “I forgive you, Theo.”

Theo breaks. He throws himself into Liam’s arms and sobs. How is this boy even real? What did he ever do to deserve a friend like Liam? Liam murmurs soothing words to him as he runs his fingers through Theo’s hair. After a few minutes, or hours, Theo really doesn’t know, he calms down and wipes his face. He runs a hand over the wet circle on Liam’s shirt and whispers, “Sorry.”

“It’ll wash, don’t worry,” Liam whispers back. “Feeling better?”

Theo nods, then slowly lifts his gaze from Liam’s shirt, lingering a little too long on the beta’s mouth before continuing up to his eyes. Liam has an unreadable look on his face. When he licks his lips, Theo is unable to stop his eyes from flickering back down to watch. A small smirk appears on the wolf’s face. Theo swallows and looks back at Liam’s eyes.

The smirk melts into a look that clearly says ‘stop me if you want’ as Liam slowly, carefully leans towards Theo. The last thing Theo wants is for Liam to stop. When Liam’s lips brush his, he feels like the world suddenly clicks into place. And then the panic sets in.

He leans back, heart pounding, breath ragged. Liam takes his hands off Theo and raises them in a placating manner. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without asking, God, Theo, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Why did you do that?” Theo demands, quietly. “I thought you just said you forgive me. Why would you do something like that, Liam? I thought you were the good one here.” 

“What? Theo, please tell me what you mean,” Liam begs. “I did that because I wanted to; because I’ve wanted to for a long time and I thought since you looked at my mouth like you did, that you wanted me to do it, too. I’m sorry for misreading the moment just please-”

“You wanted to kiss me?” Theo interrupts, incredulously.

“Well, yeah,” Liam says as if it’s obvious. Theo knows that it is anything but obvious. “I don’t just go around kissing people I don’t wanna kiss. Who would do that?”

Theo pushes the thought away. “I kissed Tracey. Didn't really want to, just wanted her power. It was a convenient distraction.” he mumbles, not looking Liam in the eyes. 

“Well, that was old Theo. He was a dick.” Liam placed his fingertips on Theo's chest. “This is new Theo. Good Theo. And I like him. I'd like to kiss him again if he'd let me?”

“Absolutely. He likes you, too.” Theo smiled.

“Yeah?” Liam asks, blue eyes sparkling. 

“Yeah.”

“That's awesome.” Theo chuckles at the beta’s response. And when Liam kisses him again, he doesn't pull away. 

When they finally come up for air, Liam rests his forehead against Theo’s. “Alright. Better get back to bed, Trouble. We’ve got an English final in the morning.”

“Trouble?” Theo asks, mildly offended.

“Yes, Trouble. You’ve been nothing but trouble since I first laid eyes on you.” Liam grins. “And explaining this to everyone, especially Scott and Stiles, is going to cause a lot of trouble.” He smacks a noisy kiss on Theo’s scowling lips. “You’re worth all the trouble, though.” 

With that parting shot, Liam climbs out of Theo’s bed and out the door. Theo shakes his head and smiles fondly at the other boy's retreating back before crawling back under his covers. He’s surrounded by the scent of Liam and can still feel his lips tingling from their kisses. The tug to leave has gotten stronger, but now he knows there’s no way he’ll ever follow it. Not now that he has every reason to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

Liam knows that  _ technically  _ life isn't perfect. He's still a werewolf with IED, living in a town with a giant magic stump that attracts calamitous creatures like shit attracts flies. And yet, there's no place he'd rather be. He's a senior, co-captain of the lacrosse team. He has amazing friends and a really hot boyfriend. With the anuk-ite gone, the guys on the team see his lycanthropy as an asset and not something to be feared. To top it all off, no one really cared when he came out as bisexual. (Except Mason “I Told You So” Hewitt.) So, yeah, life is pretty close to perfect.

Theo had apologized to the members of the puppy pack who he’d hurt before he’d gone to hell. Even going so far as to have a really awkward video call with Hayden. Now, he’s working his way through the older pack members.

It was winter break and Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Malia are back in Beacon Hills for the next few weeks. Theo had spoken to the girls already, with mixed results. Malia had just rolled her eyes at him and told him that she’d never trust him no matter what he said. Theo doesn’t blame her. Liam does. Theo apologized profusely to Lydia for hitting her, invading her mind, and landing her in Eichen House. Lydia had started to brush him off like Malia, but something the chimera did made her pause. After studying him in the way that only Lydia could do, she finally told him that she might be able to forgive him someday. That stint in Eichen had given her the opportunity to master her powers, after all. And it’d brought her closer to Stiles. She’d brushed her hand over Theo’s jaw and returned his watery smile before walking away.

On this day, Theo is going to speak to Scott and Stiles. Liam is going to be there for moral support, but it’s up to Theo to convince them of his sincerity. Sitting at the kitchen table at the McCall house, Liam observes the conversation, wishing he could hold his boyfriend through this tough exchange. But Theo feels he should get all of this off his chest before they tell the whole pack about their relationship. Liam understands, even if he doesn’t like it. Theo is HIS and he wants the world to know.

Liam tunes back in when he hears Scott say, “Alright, Theo. You’re not really here to chit chat about my college life. So what’s up?”

Theo looks over and locks eyes with Liam. Liam smiles and gives him a nod of support, letting his boyfriend know that he’s there for him no matter what. Theo nods back and turns toward Scott and Stiles.

He takes a deep breath and looks Scott in the eyes. His heart is beating fast and he knows the Alpha can hear it. He also knows Scott will probably think he’s faking it. But Theo is trying his best to be completely open with the boy he’d killed in a fruitless bid for power. He lets all his chemosignals loose and says, “I came here and asked Stiles here, so I could apologize for, literally, everything. I did unforgivable things to everyone but especially to you two. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I do need you to know that I am truly sorry for all I’ve done.”

Scott tilts his head to the side as he takes in Theo’s heartbeat, face, and scent. He takes in his beta’s ease with the chimera. He’d noted the solidarity between the two and the support Liam is clearly giving Theo. He remembers when Theo had told the story about how he’d been “turned” into a werewolf. He remembers his steady heart, earnest face, and neutral scent. Now, his heartbeat is heavy and fast, but still steady. His face is guilt-ridden and there is a look of wariness and resignation. His scent is an unpleasant mix of guilt, pain, sorrow, and shame. Scott had been fooled by this boy before. He can’t just take Theo at face value. He also remembers how Stiles had been adamant that Theo was lying. Somehow, his best friend had seen what everyone else was blind to. With that thought in mind, he turns to Stiles to see his reaction.

Stiles is also studying the chimera, eyes squinted. Stiles prides himself on his bullshit meter. From day one, Theo had rubbed him the wrong way. He still does, but more like Jackson and less like Peter. After everything, he doesn’t really want to believe Theo, and yet…

“Show me your eyes,” Stiles demands.

Theo starts. Clearly, he was not expecting the command. He looks toward Scott again. Scott looks back at Theo and flashes his alpha eyes. Theo automatically flashes his in return and jumps as Scott, Stiles, and Liam all gasp.

“What?” he cries. He hears Liam mumble something about not having seen his eyes in a while. “What’s going on?”

Stiles smiles a little. “I was right. You have to feel remorse for killing people for your eyes to turn blue. And Theo, your eyes are blue. I absolutely believe you. I believe that you’re actually sorry for everything you did. Doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you anytime soon, but I believe you.”

Liam watches as Theo’s eyes fill with tears. He knows how much hearing Stiles say that means to the chimera. “Thank you,” he whispers.

“Well then,” Scott huffs. “You know Theo, you’re not the first person to try to kill me. You were the only one to succeed, though. What makes it so damn hard to forgive you is the fact that you succeeded where others failed. And it wasn’t because you came at us head on, or allied with our enemies. You wormed your way into our lives and made yourself a hero of sorts while simultaneously setting up the scenarios that you needed to save us from in the first place. That level of manipulation is unfathomable to me, to be honest. And I was turned by Peter Hale. But he’s never apologized for all the shit he’s pulled, and I’ve forgiven him. Sort of. I forgave Deucalion when he promised to walk a less violent path.” Scott glances at his best friend again. “I’m not as vindictive as Stiles. I’ve never been good at holding grudges, I think they’re too much work. So, if you can promise that you’ll never hurt my pack again and keep protecting my beta, I’ll be willing to forgive you.”

Theo takes a moment to process everything Scott just said. He can’t believe the True Alpha would even think of forgiving him. But that’s why he’s a True Alpha, Theo supposes. And while his kind heart was a tool the old Theo had used against him in the past, Theo can’t help but be amazed and humbled by it now. He’ll never deserve all the good things that have been happening to him lately, but he will take every chance he gets to be grateful for them.

“Scott, I assure you, I never want to be that person ever again. And honestly? I’d literally die to protect your beta.” He holds his hand out to Liam.

Liam immediately grabs Theo’s hand and says, “You better fucking not, though. And if I remember correctly, you said you weren't dying for me. I'm holding you to that.”

Theo smiles softly and shakes his head, remembering the hospital elevator. He knows he’d been lying his ass off when he'd said that to Liam. All he'd wanted to do was kiss the stubborn beta stupid and drag him away from the danger. He'd known Liam would never run, though. When he’d offered to fight with him, Theo took it for a win.

Scott peers down at the boys’ clasped hands and then at the dopey smiles on their faces. He raises his eyebrows in surprise and turns helplessly to Stiles who’s shaking his head. “Of course Liam would,” He mumbled. “Kid’s always been difficult. But if he keeps Theo in line I guess it’s whatever.” Scott has to agree.

“Okay, well, Theo, consider yourself forgiven for everything you did before Kira sent you under. And please accept my thanks for everything you’ve done for my pack since Liam brought you back,” Scott states earnestly toward Theo, then his lips curl into a rueful smile. “And consider this my blessing to whatever  _ that _ is.” He jerks his chin at Theo’s hand still wrapped around Liam’s.

Liam rolls his eyes and mumbles, “Dude, I’m not your daughter and I don’t need anyone’s blessing.” 

Theo just squeezes Liam’s hand. “Thank you, Scott. I’ll do my damndest to never make you regret any of this. And you never have to thank me for doing what needs to be done. Especially after everything I’ve done before. These last few months have put a lot into perspective and I’ll never make up for what I did, but being given a second chance is more than I could have ever hoped for.”


	3. Chapter 3

_ Theo watches the Dread Doctors walk away from the body on the floor. No, not a body. Still a living, breathing person. But the breaths are labored and the heartbeat is sluggish. He rushes forward, knees crashing down onto the hard concrete and he leans over the only person he calls family. His best friend. His packmate. His other half in this shithole called life. Mercury grey eyes roll around blindly in their sockets, trying to see anything. Blood covered hands fall away limply, unable to hold the gaping chest wound any longer. _

_ “No, no, no, no, no….” Theo chants, the eyes try to focus in his direction but land somewhere beside his left shoulder. _

_ “Theo.”  _

_ Theo has no previous memory of that voice being so tremulous or small.  _

_ “Don’t go, don’t go. You can heal. It’ll be fine. You can heal.” _

_ “Do better. Be better. Make-” Two coughs, blood and mercury gurgling out of white lips. “-them pay.” _

_ “Do it yourself!” Using both hands, he gently grasps both sides of the golden head and places his forehead to the top. “Just heal. Don’t leave. Please.” _

_ “Don’t beg.” The response is automatic, along with the next comment. “I’m not going anywhere.” _

_ More coughing, more blood. A final rattling breath. _

_ “Stay. Stay with me.” _

_ Theo is alone. _

\---

Theo wakes up from his most recent dream, gasping with tears running down his cheeks. He feels like a thousand pounds are weighing down on his chest and his insides are twisted in knots. Liam stirs behind him and gently pushes Theo’s shoulder towards himself, urging him to lay on his back. 

Theo, too caught up in the memories his subconscious dug up, doesn't resist and lies back, allowing Liam to drape himself over Theo's chest and cup his face in his hands. He strokes Theo's cheeks and hair. Placing tiny kisses on his chest and murmuring soft, comforting words until Theo's heartbeat slows and his tears dry. 

“I'd ask if it was a nightmare, but you smell more sad than scared,” Liam whispers, an unasked question under the words.

“It wasn't really a nightmare, no. Just- just memories,” Theo answers.

“Do you want to talk about them?” Liam kisses his chest again, letting Theo know he can say no.

Theo stares down at the boy he loves so much. Then he thinks of the person he was dreaming about, of golden curls and hard grey eyes. He's only ever loved 3 people. His sister, whom he’d killed; his lover, whom he'd saved; and the one who is somewhere between the two, whom he didn't kill, but couldn't save. That person is as gone as his sister and all he has left is Liam. The thought terrifies him.

“Someday. Not today,” he whispers, knowing Liam will accept his answer no matter how curious he is.

“Okay. Try to get back to sleep, Theo,” Liam says, kissing Theo’s chin and settling against his chest. “I love you.”

Theo sucks in a breath at Liam’s final words, causing Liam to lift up on an elbow and look at Theo with concern. “What?” Liam asks. “Are you alright, did I hurt you?”

Theo just stares up at him. After a few minutes, Liam starts to squirm at his silence and he realizes he hasn’t said anything. Finally, he finds his voice, though it’s small. “Did you mean it?”

Liam screws up his face, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. Then, his face registers recognition and he smiles sheepishly at Theo. “Well, I didn’t really want to tell you while I was half asleep but that doesn’t make it any less true. I love you, Theo Raeken. Nothing’s gonna change that. You don’t have to say it back if you don’t fe-”

“But I do,” Theo interrupts. “I love you, too, Liam Dunbar. So fucking much. To be honest, I was just thinking about how much it scares me how much I love you. Nothing is going to change that either.”

Liam’s answering smile is so beautiful, it breaks Theo’s heart and mends it all at once. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he never got to see that smile again. He returns Liam’s smile and opens his arms. Liam immediately accepts the invitation. Snuggling back into Theo’s chest.

“I love you, Trouble,” Liam murmurs.

“I love you, too, Littlewolf,” he answers and feels Liam sigh and smile.

He ignores the constant tug and wraps his arms tighter around his werewolf as he drifts back to sleep. He’s not going anywhere.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s finally Christmas and Liam couldn’t be more excited. Not just because it’s his favorite holiday after Halloween, but because it’s the first Theo’s celebrated since he was a boy. He’s just excited for the whole day. This morning the Dunbar/Geyer house will have their own celebration and eat the cookies Liam and Theo helped his mom bake. In the evening, there will be a pack celebration at Scott’s house. Liam can’t wait to give Theo his gifts. He hopes Theo will love them as much as he does. 

He wakes up well before the sun and forces himself to wait until his parents wake up. He hasn’t woken up before them since he was little. He looks over to Theo’s side of the bed to see the chimera watching him with an amused expression.

“You’re practically vibrating.” Theo smiles at him.

“Shut up. I want you to have the best Christmas ever, but it’s gotta start first and right now it’s taking forever,” Liam whines.

Theo chuckles. “Come here, Littlewolf. I’ll keep you occupied until your mom and dad wake up if you want.”

“You know me, I always want,” Liam states seriously and climbs on top of Theo. He hears Theo chuckle again as he runs his hands up and down Liam’s back. Liam melts against Theo and lowers his mouth to his. He loves the feel of Theo’s soft lips against his own. He loves how his hands travel down his sides and up his shoulders and neck to cup his jaw. He loves hearing his heart speed up and the pleased rumble deep in his chest that he makes when Liam sucks his bottom lip in between his own. He sinks one hand into Theo’s hair while the other rubs slowly up and down his chest. 

Liam goes slow, he’s never completely sure when Theo’s going to stop him. He hasn’t quite figured out exactly how far is too far with Theo. Sometimes he can get Theo down to his boxers before he’ll pull away and ask if they can take a step back. Sometimes all it takes is for Liam to brush against his nipples for Theo to stiffen and Liam will give him space. Liam has no real clue as to what triggers Theo or why he doesn’t want to go any further. He figures maybe it’s because he lived with the Dread Doctors since he was a child and never got any experience, so he wants to take things slow. But whatever it is, Liam will give him as much space and time as he needs to be completely comfortable.

He takes in the chimera’s chemosignals. He can smell happiness and arousal. The scent is intoxicating and calls Liam’s wolf close to the surface, eager to rut and rub, bite and claw. Liam reigns him back, knowing that would be too much for Theo. He brings his wandering hand down to the hem of Theo’s shirt and slowly pushes it up, feeling the smooth skin over the hard ridges of his abs. Theo arches up to the touch and Liam feels the other boy’s hard cock brush against his hip. His own cock pulses in his sweats at the contact. 

Liam pulls his mouth off of Theo’s and starts to kiss along his jaw and up to his ear. He sucks his earlobe into his mouth and nibbles a little before moving down his neck. Theo’s hands leave his neck to plunge his fingers into Liam’s hair to keep him in place. Theo’s neck is sensitive and Liam loves to suck and lick at his pulse almost as much as Theo loves Liam to do it.

Liam is about to bring his other hand down to lift Theo’s shirt higher when they’re interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Boys,” Jenna calls through the door. “Up and at ‘em. The presents aren’t going to open themselves.” 

They hear her turn and walk down the stairs, followed shortly by Liam’s stepdad, David.

Liam rests his forehead against Theo’s and mumbles, “Suddenly, I wish they’d stayed in bed longer.”

“Well, my job here is done,” Theo states, grinning. “You’ve been thoroughly distracted. You’re welcome. Now, I believe you promised me the best Christmas ever, so get up.” He gently pushes Liam off of him and rolls out of bed. 

Liam looks down at his erection and then over to Theo’s and pouts. “Fine. But only because I know mom’s making apple-cinnamon waffles right now. And I haven’t had any of those since last Christmas.”

Theo whips his head towards the door. “Apple-cinnamon waffles? Are you serious? What the hell are we still doing up here, then?” Theo almost trips over the blanket that had fallen on the floor when he got out of bed in his haste to get to the door. Theo’s favorite food is apples. He loves everything to do with them. Even those green Jolly Ranchers that Liam finds disgusting.

“Um, Theo?” Theo pauses in the doorway with an impatient look on his face. “You wanna get rid of that before you scar my mother for life?” He glances pointedly at Theo’s hard-on, still clearly visible in his sleep pants.

Theo looks down and his ears turn pink. He turns towards the ensuite bathroom, grumbling about pretty boys getting him all hot and bothered when they know there’s gonna be apple-cinnamon waffles waiting for him. Liam can’t stop the giggles from leaving his mouth at his grumpy boyfriend. “Love you, too, babe. Besides, it was your idea to distract me.” He reminds Theo as he thinks about his dirty socks in an attempt to will his own erection down.

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me about the waffles,” Theo replies.

“Uh, it was a surprise. So, surprise! On Christmas, a Dunbar tradition is to have apple-cinnamon waffles. You’re welcome.” He grins as Theo walks back into the bedroom.

“Alright, alright let’s go.” He grabs Liam’s hand and pulls him out of bed. He pauses a moment and looks down into his blue, blue eyes. “Hi.” He smirks and pecks Liam on the lips.

“Hey.” Liam beams up at him and then tugs their joined hands towards the door. “Let’s go get you some Christmas waffles.”

Down in the kitchen, Jenna and David are dancing and singing to ‘Santa Baby’ while a waffle is baking in the maker. Liam skirts around them and grabs 2 mugs from the cabinet before pouring himself and Theo coffee. He goes the long way around the kitchen to get back to Theo and hands a cup to the chimera who is watching Liam’s parents with a goofy smile on his face. His attention is redirected when the waffle maker beeps, indicating that the first waffle is done.

“I’ll get it, mom!” Liam hollers and bolts towards the plates left out by the waffle maker. He carefully opens the machine and pulls the perfectly browned waffle on a plate. He takes the plate to the stove and drizzles some homemade apple syrup over the waffle. He sets it down on the counter and Theo makes a grab for it. Liam slaps his hand away and informs him that he’s not done yet. He goes to the fridge and pulls out a can of whipped cream. He sprays a generous spiral on top of the waffle and then sprinkles some cinnamon and apple pie spice on top of the whipped cream. He grabs a fork and sets it next to the plate in front of Theo.

“Behold!” He gestures exaggeratedly towards the waffle. “Grandma Dunbar’s secret apple-cinnamon waffle! Enjoy!” 

Theo blinks at his boyfriend’s antics and grabs the fork, cutting a bite-sized piece and shoving it into his mouth. He moans at the flavor. “Oh my god. My compliments to Grandma Dunbar. This is the most amazing waffle I’ve ever eaten.” He digs into the rest of the food as everyone else in the kitchen laughs at his reaction. 

The waffle maker beeps again and Liam prepares his own waffle and sits next to Theo. He shakes his head at Theo’s mostly empty plate. “Hope you made extra this year, mom.”

Jenna closes the lid on the maker and turns toward her boys. “Of course I did,” She scoffs. “Two teenage boys are worse than one. And since Theo loves apples so much, I knew I’d need to at least triple the recipe.”

Theo grins. “You know me so well.” He makes hopeful eyes at the maker when it beeps again.

Jenna tsks. “Let everyone get one before you get another, Theo. Don’t be greedy.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Theo pouts. Then he turns to steal a bite of Liam’s waffle but the beta is shoving the last bite in his mouth. “Jesus, Liam.” Theo stares incredulously at him. Liam just grins.

*

Theo practically has to be rolled into the living room to open presents. He’d eaten four waffles before they’d run out of batter. Probably for the best. He would’ve eaten another and been even more miserable. Totally worth it, though. Those waffles were amazing. Liam had eaten just as many and looks as stuffed as he feels. David and Jenna had only had one and a half each. Theo’s not sure if that makes them smarter. At least they don’t have to waddle to their stockings.

He's still reeling at the fact that there was an actual stocking with his name on it hanging on the wall. It's green and white, striped like socks at the top and shaped like an elf shoe at the bottom. Complete with a bell on the toe and “THEO” written in red across the top with what looked like puffy paint. He thinks it's the coolest thing he’s ever seen. When he’d first come home from school and saw it hanging there next to a green and red stocking with a Rudolph face and Liam’s name on it, he’d been stunned. Liam had seen him pause and stare in awe at the oversized sock. He’d just smiled softly, giving Theo a knowing look, and gently pulled him up the stairs.

Now, as he follows everyone’s example and pulls it off its hook, he can’t help but feel humbled by the people who’ve taken him in. He’s never had anything like this. The only person who’d ever cared about him before the Dread Doctors had gotten a hold of him -when his life had been semi-normal- had been Tara, and he’d betrayed her horribly. He is determined to never make that mistake again. These wonderful people are giving him a life worth living and he will protect them all with his life.

The stockings are all filled with fun little things that each person might or might not need. Liam gets a blue scarf, a bag of Hershey’s Hugs (his favorite candy), a scratcher ticket, a pair of socks with little wolf heads on them, a gift card to the local video game store, and a copy of the latest Marvel movie. Theo gets much the same. His scarf is green, his candy is Werther’s caramel apple (his absolute favorite), and his movie is the latest Disney film. He got the same scratcher ticket and gift card. He even gets a pair of socks to match Liam’s. 

The rest of the gifts are passed around. Theo treasures every one that's handed to him with his name on it from the practical t-shirt three-pack to the personalized coffee mug from Jenna and David. When the gifts are opened and the wrapping paper is cleaned up, Jenna drags David into the kitchen to help her make pies for the pack dinner. She winks at her son on the way out.

"Thanks for the subtlety, ma," Liam grumbles, making Theo snort.

"Okay, so yours is still upstairs," Theo confesses. "I kinda forgot about it after you mentioned the waffles."

"S'okay. I forgot about yours when you offered to distract me." Liam gives him a lopsided grin.

Theo chuckles and stands, pulling Liam up with him. "Let's go get them then."


	5. Chapter 5

Theo enters his room, which he basically only uses for the closet and desk to study at away from a certain distracting beta. He's surprised when Liam follows him in. "You're not going to grab yours?"

"I stashed it in here," Liam grins at him. "Figured it'd be the last place you'd accidentally find it."

Theo snorts. "Fair."

He goes to his closet and pulls an envelope with Liam’s name on it out of a wooden crate he keeps on the top shelf. He’d asked Liam to leave it alone and he trusted him to not snoop. And since he’s never scented Liam anywhere near his closet, he knows Liam kept his promise to leave it alone. He turns around to see Liam shimmying out from under his bed, a small wrapped box in his hand. Theo is kind of relieved Liam's gift is small as well. However. "You hid it under my bed?"

"Well it's not like you ever sleep in it." Liam winks at him, then looks down shyly at the present in his hands. "Do you wanna go first?"

"Sure," Theo is actually kind of relieved. He's so ready for Liam to see what he’s giving him. He moves to sit on the edge of the bed and hands the box to Liam when he settles beside him. "Seemed kind of weird to wrap an envelope, so here. Merry Christmas, Liam."

“If it’s from you, then it’s perfect.” The beta beams at him and carefully opens the envelope. 

Inside are papers, clearly ripped out of a book; a journal. Theo’s personal journals. He’s blacked out the bits that he’s not quite ready for Liam to see, but every mention of Liam he’s ever written is pulled out and left clear for him to read.

Liam’s brow furrows as he reads the first entry out loud. “Liam Dunbar. First bitten beta of Scott McCall. Fifteen years old. Sexual orientation: Unknown. Diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Could be useful.” He looks up at Theo, confused.

“Okay, so the beginning isn’t very flattering, but this was, you know, before I went under.” He shrugs.

“What exactly are these?”

“Right. So, growing up with three ‘doctors’ really drove home the ideal of writing down  _ everything.  _ So I have these journals. I’m not really ready to show you everything, but I wanted to show you everything about you. I’ll admit the first several entries aren’t great, but I think they really show best how much you’ve come to mean to me. The contrast between then and now.”

Liam's mouth forms into an adorable O while Theo talks. He looks back down at the papers with a new understanding. He looks back up at Theo, brows furrowed once more. "This is, like, a week after I was bitten? And why was my sexual orientation relevant?"

Theo grimaces. "The docs and I were in town a lot longer than you all realize. I was both pissed and pleased that my name wasn't on the Dead Pool." He rubs the back of his neck. "As for the other thing, I could've used your attraction to me against you if it had been in my best interest. But, you know, uh, Hayden was a better pawn to use against you than myself. So."

"Okay," Liam acknowledges, leaning over to kiss Theo's temple before turning back to the pages.

God, Theo loves him so much. He can't wait for him to get past the parts from before hell. 

Liam snorts and Theo looks at what he's reading.  _ 'Just spent three hours playing COD. I hope that little beta was as bored out of his skull as I was.' _

Liam levels him with a droll stare. "I was. Thanks for that."

Theo smirks at him and nods for him to continue.

_ 'Made sure Stiles and Liam saw me dropping a lily in the creek. Put on a show of grief for the kid to sniff out.' _

_ 'Also saw Liam up close for the first time tonight. Won't be a hardship to work him if it doesn't work out with the Romero girl.' _

"Not a hardship, huh?" Liam raises an eyebrow at Theo. 

"Well, yeah. I feel like at this point you should realize that I am very much attracted to you."

"Even back then, though?"

"My eyes were perfectly functional, so yes." Theo kisses his jaw. "Now hurry up and read. I'm ready for you to get to the good stuff."

Liam laughs. "Okay, okay!"

_ 'Overheard that Liam is worried about telling his best friend he's a werewolf. I think it's about time that truth bomb dropped.' _

_ 'Mason's face when Liam shifted and howled at me: priceless. Hopefully he'll give the beta a hard time about it.' _

Liam laughs. "Mason was so excited. So, I guess, thanks for the assist."

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." Theo rolls his eyes.

Liam smirks and continues reading. 

_ 'Managed to convince docs to take Liam when they pull Hayden from the school. Double the amount of crises to tip in my favor. Scott will need me to help save his beta and this will put pressure on the budding relationship between Liam and Hayden, splitting the beta's loyalties, further weakening Scott's hold on his pack.' _

_ 'Damn, I love it when a plan comes together. One beta and one helpless chimera saved. One True Alpha in my debt. Bonus points for the cuddles and kisses I had to witness in my rearview after the rescue. Baby beta fell for a girl with an expiration date. So sad.' _

"Okay, ouch." Liam winces at Theo's callous words. 

"Sorry." Theo whispers, staring down at his hands.

"Hey," Liam grabs the one closest to him and kisses his knuckles, "it's in the past. You're not that person anymore."

Theo pulls in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, squeezing Liam's hand.

"Do you think Hayden and I would've even gotten together if it weren't for you?" Liam muses.

"Probably. I just accelerated the timeline, expounding on the mutual attraction that was already there. You managed to awkwardly charm the girl who hated you for two years all on your own, Littlewolf." Theo bumps his shoulder into Liam's. "I just capitalize on it."

"Thanks," Liam snorts and flips to the next page. 

_ 'Oh, no. Hayden is sick. Liam is distraught. I told him that an alpha's bite could probably save her, but damn if Scott won't do it. Whatever shall the little beta do?' _

Theo takes another deep breath. He's still not really ready to talk about it, but he'd promised every mention of Liam. Even this.

_ 'Everything is lining up perfectly. Scott's been choking down wolfsbane for hours. Hayden is in dire condition. Liam is desperate to save his first love. All I've got to do is remind Scott's beta that the only way to save her is an alpha bite, and if Scott won't do it, then someone should. Someone who can take that spark from him.' _

_ 'Scott is trapped in the library and Lydia and Malia are indisposed. Time to rile up a beta and let him lose. Then I can work on Stiles.' _

_ 'That little shit and his best friend ruined EVERYTHING! I was so close to getting what I deserve and that useless beta left Scott alive. I killed him myself but, of course, I couldn't take a True Alpha spark. It is a little satisfying knowing the prick won't be around to get in the way of Plan B.' _

Liam shakes his head hard and Theo barely manages to hide his flinch. "The difference is astounding. The worst day of my life and you were treating it all like some life sized chess game."

"I'm so sorry, Liam."

"I know you are and I believe you. And I forgive  _ you.  _ I could've never forgiven this guy." Liam lifts the page.

"He is me, though."

"No, he is a small piece of you. Not insignificant, because you're going to have to live with the memories and consequences of his actions for the rest of your life, but he's not you. Because you care. This guy only cared about himself."

Theo sighs. "Wasn't always like that."

"No?"

"No, but that's a conversation for a different day. And like I told Stiles, I came here for a pack. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I didn't want to be a failure anymore. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to survive. And all I saw was Scott running around with everything I wanted."

Liam turns to wrap his arms around Theo's shoulders. "I wish we could have helped you. I wish you would've let us. It would've saved everyone a lot of heartache." Liam kisses his forehead. "It turned out alright though. Watching you grow into this new person who loves and isn't so afraid, so angry, is one of the greatest things I've had the privilege to witness, to be a part of."

"You know you're the reason I wanted to change in the first place, right? When you first freed me, I wasn't much different from when I went under. I was still terrified and willing to do anything to survive."

"You were different. You just didn't know how to be."

"Good thing I had an excellent teacher, then." He kisses Liam's nose. "Now keep reading. It's not quite as bad from here and of course, there's the after Hell bits I'm ready for you to see."

Liam lowers his arms and settles against Theo's side before continuing. 

_ 'I made my choices carefully. Tracy, her kanima venom and tail will make her very useful in fights. Corey's abilities will make him an excellent spy. Josh, his abilities make him the best counter against Kira. And Hayden can help me track down the remaining chimera and subsequently, the beast's host, but more importantly, I can continue to use her against Liam. _

_ 'With my own pack, I can use them against the Dread Doctors and their beast. I can make nice with Scott's pack against them until I can take the Beast's power for myself and slaughter them all. With that kind of power, I'll be invincible.' _

_ 'Josh cant get high off of drugs anymore. He was pretty pissed off about it but I hooked him up to my truck's battery. That helped him chase nirvana.  _

_ Caught Liam spying on us in the Sinema parking lot. Now he knows about Hayden and Josh. Won't be long before he figures out about Corey and Tracy.' _

_ 'Apparently Scott is still pissed at Liam. Overheard Mason reminding Liam he wasn't to get involved with anything. I might have insinuated to the beta that there's more between Hayden and I than there actually is. Riling him up is fun for some reason.' _

"Oh, my god, Theo. Was that your twisted version of flirting?"

"What, no! No?"

_ "'No?'  _ As in maybe?"

"I don't know, Liam." Theo rests his forehead against Liam's shoulder. "I knew you were attractive, but that was very low on my list of priorities."

"Yeah. Okay, that's true."

Liam turns back to the papers and keeps reading.

_ 'Hayden hasn't come back in a few days. No doubt she's left my pack for Liam. As soon as all of this is over and I finally have the power I deserve, I'm going to rip that kid's head off for the sheer inconvenience he's caused me since all of this started.' _

Liam nods down at the entry. "Power of love: 1. Chimera of death: 0."

"Oh, fuck off," Theo laughs, shoving Liam's shoulder. "The next one is the last one before… before."

"Okay." Liam takes a steadying breath. "Okay."

_ 'Scott accepted my invitation for a meeting. He brought Liam instead of Stiles. Probably showing me that they've mended and rifts I'd caused between them. He's a mouthy thing, it's pretty amusing, actually.  _

_ 'They accepted my offer for a temporary alliance. Anything to defeat The Beast and save Mason. I couldn't care less about Liam's friend, but if it gets me what I was, I'll do whatever I have to do." _

"Okay, so, what I'm learning here is that you thought I was hot, but you didn't care about me," Liam muses.

"Sorry," Theo looks away.

"You thought I was hot, though."

"Yes, Liam," Theo says exasperatedly. "We've established this."

Liam grins dopily up at him. "Yeah, but I still like to hear it."

Theo rolls his eyes and kisses his cheek. "You're beautiful, Littlewolf. I've always thought so."

Liam beams at him, making his heart siip, before shuffling the papers to the next page. It's a half sheet of bright green paper that has been folded and refolded many times. The paper was soft and there were tiny holes in the corners of each fold.

"I carried that one in my pockets for a long time. I wrote it when you brought me here to get cleaned up before taking me to Scott's."

The front of the paper was a flyer for a bake sale to raise money for new cheerleader uniforms. But on the back, Theo had scratched the same three words three times.

_ 'LIAM SAVED ME _

_ LIAM SAVED ME _

_ LIAM SAVED ME' _

"I needed the reminder that I wasn't there anymore and that you were the reason. During the whole Ghost Riders mess, this piece of paper was my anchor."

Liam wraps his arm around Theo's shoulders and kisses his forehead. "I'm so happy I saved you, Theo. I'm only sorry it took so long."

"As you've just read, I wasn't a good person. My time underground broke me and those pieces formed a foundation that I could stand on and you helped me rebuild myself into someone better. Not perfect, not even  _ that _ good, but definitely better."

Liam scowls. "You're good."

"A little. I like to think I'm at about Stiles or Malia levels of good. I'll never be at Mason or Scott's level." Theo shrugs. 

Liam snorts, understanding. "Nobody can reach that level. You gotta be born with it, I think."

Theo kisses his temple. "Keep reading."

He doesn't pay as much attention to his own words this time. Instead he seeks out Liam's reactions. His heartbeat and emotions. The blacked out sections are fewer and farther in between as Liam pours over the pages.

_ 'It's been a long time since I've been able to write anything down, but Liam saved me.' _

_ 'Liam told me it was a mistake, that he was going to send me back.' _

_ 'Liam broke the sword, now I'm safe.' _

_ 'I watched Liam ride off on a horse to save his friends and I couldn't believe he could be so reckless, so brave. But if he could, then so could I. I'd help his friends on this side.' _

_ 'I could leave. The Ghost Riders are gone and there is nothing stopping me from starting the truck and getting the fuck out of Beacon Hills. Nothing except myself and this weird feeling that I can't leave until I can pay Liam back for saving me. I could leave. It would be so easy. But I can't leave. Not yet.' _

_ 'I watched Liam's lacrosse game from the preserve. I couldn't find a decent place to park and try to get some sleep, so I decided to go watch a game. They won.' _

_ 'Hayden is gone. Liam smells sad all the time and I'm tempted to find her and drag her back so he doesn't smell like that anymore. But part of me is glad she's gone, though I'm not sure why.' _

_ 'I got kidnapped by fucking amature hunters! They shot up my truck and chained me to a fence to fry me along with a couple of Satomi's wolves. I managed to escape only to be immediately arrested for murder. Which was bullshit. I haven't killed anyone since I got back. Liam was at the sheriff's station. I was glad to see that the hunters hadn't gotten a hold of him yet. And as far as I'm concerned, they never fucking will.' _

_ 'Liam chose me to help him at the zoo.' _

_ 'I had to knock him out five times, but it stopped him from killing that Nolan kid, from doing something he could never live with. Because he's not like me. He's good. Liam is good. And he likes history.' _

_ 'I stopped Liam from killing another one of Monroe's child soldiers. This time I only had to use my words. There was something heady about being able to reach him, to keep him human. I don't know if it means the same for him as it does for me.' _

_ 'We were in the elevator and his heart skipped when he said he wasn't dying for me. And then mine did too. Because we'd both lied. I wanted to kiss him more than anything.' _

_ 'Liam brought me to his house after the battle at the hospital. He'd figured out that I've been sleeping in my truck this whole time. He'd been devastated for some reason. It's not like it's his fault.' _

_ 'Liam woke me from my nightmare tonight. He saved me again.' _

_ 'I woke Liam from a nightmare this time. He hugged me. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.' _

_ 'I love him. I'm in love with Liam Dunbar.' _

_ 'Liam kissed me. He forgave me for everything I put him through and he kissed me.' _

_ 'Liam told me he loves me. I love him so much and he loves me back.' _

_ 'Christmas is tomorrow and I'm going to show all of this to Liam. I'm going to show him how much I love him and how much he means to me. How much he's changed my life for the better.' _

Theo smells the salt from Liam's tears. The room is filled with the scents of Liam's kaleidoscope of emotions. His heartbeat is strong and steady as he looks up at Theo. "I love you so fucking much, Theo Raeken."

Theo sobs and collapses against Liam's chest. They hold each other and bask in their mingled relief and love, love, love.

Liam pulls away and takes a deep breath, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Okay, your turn." He hands Theo his small gift.

Theo painstakingly unwraps the box, pulls the lid off, and gasps a little at the half-dollar sized medallion he sees. He pulls it out to take a closer look at the wolf engraved on the front.

"It's made from a piece of Kira's sword." Liam's words make Theo's head snap up to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"The key to your former prison can't be rebuilt without that piece." Theo can only imagine the face he's wearing that makes Liam smile at him like that. Fond and sad. "You know my mantra?” he asks.

“What three things cannot long be hidden? The sun, the moon, the truth.” Theo answers, eyes once again glued to his gift.

“Right. Scott is my sun. My alpha. Positive, full of hope and understanding. Mason is my moon. And like the moon does for the tides, he helps guide me where I need to go.” Liam grabs Theo’s free hand and catches his eyes with his own. “You? You are my truth. You’ve helped me learn more about myself than any other person has. I can always count on you to never sugar coat anything that I need to know. You’re not afraid of me. You see every part of me and still love me anyway. You are my anchor and one of my best friends and I love you. Turn it over.”

Theo turns the medallion over and as he reads the inscription, he lets one of the tears that had gathered in his eyes at Liam’s words fall down his cheek.

  
  


_ I’m still not dying for you _

_ because I’m going to live for you.  _

_ So I can fight with you _

_ Against anything that comes our way. _

_ Love always, Liam _

  
  


"Shit, Liam," Theo sobs and Liam wraps his arms around his shoulders. "I love you so fucking much." 

"Good, because I love you, too. And I'm not about to let you go. Here." Liam takes the medallion from him and slips the chain over Theo's head, letting it rest against his chest. "In case you ever forget how much." He leans down to kiss the warm metal and then Theo's chest, right between his collarbones. He kisses the underside of Theo's chin then reaches up to brush away his tears, leaving his hands on his cheeks.

Theo reaches out to cup Liam's face in his own palms. "I will never not be thankful for my second chance. For all the hard choices and near misses that led me to this moment, that led me to you. My heart might not be mine, but its every beat is for you and I'm going to use it to love you until I die. Probably after that too."

"Better not be any time soon."

"Not if I can help it." Thep pulls Liam's face to him so he can kiss him once more, losing himself in the beta's scent and taste. 

After an indeterminate amount of time, they pull away and Theo lays back against the pillows, beckoning Liam to join him. "Lets sleep off those waffles so we can get ready to go to Scott's."

"Don't gotta ask me twice." Liam crawls to Theo and drapes himself over his chest.

Before they fall asleep to the sound of each other's heartbeats and they breathe, Theo brushes a hand over his belly where the ever insistent tug pulls at him.  _ Give it up because I'm not. I'm keeping this.  _


	6. Chapter 6

Pack dinner at the McCall house is a chaotic affair. The table is covered with food like a buffet. Ms. McCall adamantly tells the kids they are to take only two rolls. After everyone gets a first plate  _ then _ it’s a free for all with the leftovers if there are any. Malia and Stiles complain the loudest at this decree. The adults sit around the kitchen island, guarding the desserts while the teens all find places to eat in the living room.

When the food is devoured and the meager leftovers are put away, the desserts are demolished and the dishes are washed, they gather in the living room to exchange Secret Santa gifts. Liam had pulled Malia’s name and he’d freaked out a little, not knowing what he could possibly get for her. He'd tried to just get her a gift card, but his mom had insisted he actually put thought into a gift for her.

She tips open the wrapping paper and stares down at the box, reading the description. "Wild game jerky crate. Venison, elk, buffalo, and more." She smiles at him, teeth a little sharp. "Thanks, Liam!"

Liam barely contains his relieved sigh. "Inside should be a certificate for a year's worth of crates. You'll get one every month with different flavors and different game."

"This is awesome." She rips into the box to get to her first selection of dried meats.

He looks over at Theo to see his boyfriend laughing at him. He pulls a face at him then turns toward Mason as he stands in front of him. 

"I got lucky this year," Mason grins and shoves a small present in his hands. "Merry Christmas, Liam!"

Liam beams at his best friend and tears open the glossy paper. A square of toilet paper with a winking emoji drawn on it flutters into his lap and he snorts at the long standing joke. (Mason's gift is stuffed in an empty roll.) In his hands is an old, hardbound copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. "Holy shit, Mason. Where did you get this?"

"Book Nook," Mason answers, speaking of the local new and used book store. "I was looking for some books for mom and I saw that in a pile of books that Marty was sorting from a box of donations. I begged him to let me take it."

"This is amazing. Thanks, Mason!"

Liam sits back and smiles contentedly as gifts are exchanged. Liam loves all of these people and he's so glad they're all in his life. He watched as Theo smiles down at the framed photo Lydia had given him. It was of him in his wolf form, pinning Liam down and licking him all over his face while he tried to push Theo off. They hadn't known she'd even taken a picture at that moment.

The happy chattering dies down as Scott stands up. "I miss this when I'm away. Being here with all of you. I miss having everyone gathered together and feeling all of you near.  _ All _ of you." He levels his gaze at Theo. "Theo, man, it's been rocky, I'm not going to lie. I don't have to tell you that the history between us is painful." Theo shakes his head, his shoulders dropping. "In hindsight, I understand why Stiles couldn't trust you when you first came back to Beacon Hills. Everything you did and said was perfect; too perfect. Now, you make mistakes. You're no longer reciting from a script designed to make us trust you."

Scott stops to look at Liam. He looks at Stiles and Lydia and Malia. Then his mom and Sheriff Stilinski. "We've watched you become a real person who loves and is loved. You've managed to make a place for yourself here with the younger members of the pack. They trust you and I think it's safe to say that that trust isn't misplaced.

"So, if it's still something you want, on behalf of myself and the older members of this pack, I'd like to extend to you an invitation to officially join us as part of this pack."

Theo's heart stutters in his chest and his eyes are watering. "Really?"

"Really." Scott opens his arms. "Welcome home, Theo."

Liam barely catches Theo's picture as Theo stumbles off of the couch and into the alpha's arms. Scott wraps his arms around him, holding him close and Liam feels the warmth of his bond with Theo strengthen and solidify with his alphas acceptance. 

Lydia stands and crosses to them, laying her hand on the back of Theo's neck. He turns his head to send her a repentant look. Stiles and Malia follow, each laying a hand on his shoulders. Melissa steps up behind her son and buries her fingers in his hair. "I'm going to tell you what told Liam. If you ever try to kill my son again, I'll kill you myself."

Theo pulls Scott impossibly closer. "Never again. Never again."

"I didn't think so," she says kindly and brushes his hair back.

One by one, the pack gathers around Theo, everyone touching him somewhere. Liam manages to squeeze himself between Mason and Corey to plaster himself to Theo's back, snaking his hands between him and Scott. He's so proud to be a part of this pack and now that Theo is a part of it, too, it feels like a missing piece has been found.

When they finally break apart and settle back in their seats, they start arguing over which movie to watch. Liam and Stiles insist that Die Hard  _ is _ a Christmas movie and should be watched. Mason wants to watch Home Alone. Corey wants to watch Elf and Malia agrees with him. Everyone is bickering and throwing out different movies until Derek says, "You can't go wrong with How the Grinch Stole Christmas." 

"The cartoon or Jim Carey." Mason asks. "Don't even think about saying the Bumbershoot Cucumber one."

Derek rolls his eyes. "Jim Carey. I haven't seen it in… a very long time."

Liam tilts his head at the somber note in Derek's voice and scent. Before he can ask about it though, Theo says, "I've never seen that one."

"Well, that settles it then," Stiles says, clapping his hands and standing up.

They all start to move to rearrange the living room for the movie when a knock sounds at the door. Everyone pauses, the supernaturals listening.

“Anyone we know?” Stiles asks.

“Doesn’t sound familiar to me.” Scott shrugs and looks around the room. Everyone shakes their heads except Theo, whose head is tilted. “Theo?”

“I dunno. Maybe? I don’t think so but…” He shakes his head as if to clear it. “Nah.” Liam takes his hand and sends him a questioning stare. Theo just squeezes his hand and shakes his head again.

“Do they realize it’s freaking Christmas?” Malia growls.

Scott stands up. “I’ll see what they want and send them on their way.”

Liam can’t see who’s at the door when Scott opened it, but the voice was feminine.

“Um, hi. So, I know you don’t know me and I know that it’s Christmas and all and this is going to sound a little crazy-” The girl cuts off her own rambling to take a deep breath. “Oh! Oh, you’re a werewolf. That’s- that’s helpful. I think. Maybe this won’t sound too weird after all.”

Theo’s entire body stiffens at the girl’s voice and Liam can hear his heart begin to pound heavily in his chest. Liam tries to get his attention, but Theo just stands up and slowly walks toward the door, eyes wide. Liam scrambles up to follow him, exchanging baffled glances with the rest of the pack.

From over Scott’s shoulder, they can see a young woman, early twenties give or take. Her loose blonde curls are cut short and arranged around her head like a glowing halo under the porch light. Her eyes are silvery grey and her smile is bashful and uncertain.

Scott must flash his eyes in acknowledgement because her eyes flash gold briefly before she subtly tilts her head in submission. “I am so sorry, Alpha, to have interrupted your holiday gathering,” she says softly.

Theo’s breathing is turning ragged and Liam lays a comforting hand on his shoulder, ready to push Theo behind himself if he has to. Theo’s clamped down on his chemosignals, even as his physical responses undermine his bid for control.

Scott’s shoulders relax a fraction at her submissive stance and he says, “Why don’t you tell me why.”

“Okay, so… I’m from New York and for the past year, I’ve felt this, this  _ tugging _ in my gut. And for months I ignored it. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and I started heading west following this feeling. I’ve been traveling for five months trying to find where it’s been coming from and it led me here. I know it sounds bonkers, but…” The girl gives a helpless shrug. “I guess I’m just hoping to find whatever it is I’ve been looking for. But, uh, oh my gosh it’s Christmas. I can totally come back tomorrow and let you get on with your evening.”

The words must have spurned something in Theo because he takes a stuttered step toward the door.  _ “Amber?”  _ he chokes out.

The girl’s head snaps toward Theo. She gasps and her heartbeat stutters. Then, her surprised face shutters and her heart evens out. Her eyes flash gold and her nose flares as she focuses on Theo. Liam steps closer to him as the girl somehow goes from sweet to threatening without moving a muscle.

Without shifting her gaze from Theo she says to Scott, “It seems, Alpha, that your services are no longer necessary. Found it. You can keep it.”

With eyes like ice, she looks back at Scott, nods respectfully. She takes a step back and turns, walking away.

“No!” Theo stumbles after her.


	7. Chapter 7

Theo can't think. He can hardly breathe. When he'd locked eyes with her, the constant tug in his gut eased and a tension he hadn't been aware he'd been carrying around lifted. But at the same time, his world shifted and it felt like he was being dragged down another hole. 

He sweeps past Scott and follows the one person he was sure he'd never see again.

"Amber! Wait! Amber, please!"

She stops, shoulders tensing. He can practically hear her say,  _ 'Don't beg'. _

She turns to glare at him. "The fuck do you want from me, Theo? Looked to me like you got a pretty cozy set up back there."

"That's not- how are you here?"

Amber's eyes glance behind him. He's aware that the pack has all gathered on the porch to watch. No doubt they're dying of curiosity.

"Oh, you know," Amber sneers, "Lie, steal, charm, cheat. The usual methods. Or are they not good enough for you anymore?"

"I meant _how_ are you here? How are you _alive?"_

"What the fuck is that even supposed to mean, Fangs?" Theo knows he's startled her if she's using his old nickname. "The heart in my chest is beating, my lungs are taking in air, my brain is working superbly."

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what? You abandoning me? You and the Docs just packing up and leaving me in New York? I remember that clearly. Thanks."

"I didn't  _ abandon  _ you! You fucking  _ died _ in New York! Surgeon fucking skewered you on his sword and made me watch!" Tears are streaming down his face but he doesn't care that she sees. "You died in my arms, Amber. I heard your heart stop. I heard your last breath. I- I fucking buried you." The last part comes out softly.

"No. That doesn't- I woke up in the operating theatre. Between an empty tank and that giant spool."

"What do you remember from before you woke up?" Theo wants to touch her. Grab onto her and make sure she's real and not some vivid hallucination. "Do you know what year it is?"

"It's…" her brow furrows and she mumbles a date.

"That was almost three years ago." Theo reaches out and grabs her wrist, reveling in the flutter of her pulse under his fingertips. "You were standing between the tank and the spool when he stabbed you. He called you a failure and just… ran you through. I always figured they found out about your plan to run and were sending me a warning."

"If that is all true, then how  _ am _ I alive?"

"I don't know but I also don't really want to question it. I missed you so goddamn much." He squeezes her wrist hard enough to bruise. 

"Three years, huh? I'm finally 21."

"I dunno..you still look like you did the last time I saw you."

"So? Birth certificate still says I was born 21 years ago. That's all that matters."

Theo smirks. "Which one?"

Amber opens her mouth to quip something back but her attention snags on the people behind him once more. She frowns. "How did you get away from the Docs?"

"Oh, uh, I didn't. They're dead. The Beast killed them."

Her eyes grow huge. "The Beast?" She whispers. "They did it?"

"Yeah, and then the pack," Theo gestures to the small crowd behind him, "defeated him. It's all over."

"Are you fucking kidding me? A bunch of werewolves bested the Beast?"

"Well, they're not all werewolves. It's complicated." Theo releases her wrist and turns to look at Scott. "Would you like to meet them, if they don't mind?"

Scott looks at the pack and back at Amber. Theo can feel her stiffen under his gaze. He looks back at Theo and says, "She's your responsibility."

Theo nods quickly in agreement. This situation isn't terribly unlike when Liam had brought Theo back. Except this time, they have no idea who Amber is. They'd been right to be wary of Theo after he had shown them what he was capable of. And if Amber is from that part of his past, they have every right to be wary of her, too. More so if Theo is honest with himself.

“What? Does he think I’m gonna steal something?”

“Well…” Theo starts, heading back toward the house. Amber follows him. “I tried to steal his pack back when I was still with the Docs and right now the only thing they know about you is that we knew each other when I was  _ like that.” _

“The fuck is  _ that _ supposed to mean?”

Liam, who’d started walking toward them, meets them halfway and falls into step beside Theo. “Homicidal? Manipulative? Evil?”

“Thank you, Liam,” Theo says drolly.

The beta smirks at him and Amber scoffs. “Well, it sounds like they already know all of my best moves since I taught you everything you know. Wouldn’t be any fun to fuck with them then.”

Theo rolls his eyes as they walk up the porch. Before they get to the door Liam asks, “How did you not notice the date for an entire year?”

“I mean, I saw the date, like I know today is December 25th, but the year didn’t register.” Amber says, shrugging. “You ever had one of those days where you’re so sure it’s Wednesday until someone tells you it’s been Thursday all day? It feels like that only bigger. I just went about my business believing it was three years earlier than it apparently is.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Liam says as they walk through the door. 

The atmosphere is tense and the pack is spread out around the living room. Theo feels Amber stop a few steps inside the door. He turns to look at her, Liam stops beside him.

“Everyone, this is Amber Caldwell. She’s… well, you know when I said I was the first chimera? It was true, but I was first in a set of two. We were, uh, recruited at the same time. Amber, this is my pack. Scott,” he points to the alpha, “is our alpha. True alpha.”

Before Amber can say anything, Malia asks, “You kill your sister, too?”

Theo clenches his jaw and hopes Amber doesn’t take the bait.

Amber quirks a brow and smirks. “Uncle, actually.”

_ Shit. _

The pack bristles a little at the lack of remorse she shows. They’re used to Theo’s reformed demeanor. He can only imagine what kind of memories her behavior is stirring up. He doesn’t know how to explain that she’s goading them on purpose to feel them out, nor that the circumstances with her uncle were vastly different from his sister. That’s not his story to tell.

Amber takes an assessing look around the room. “Quite a collection you’ve got here, alpha.” She nods to Scott. “Most packs just have wolves and humans.” Her gaze settles on Lydia. “A banshee in a wolf pack. How peculiar.” She turns to Malia and grins. “And you managed to den down a coyote. Impressive.” 

Malia snarls at her. Amber blows her a kiss and keeps going.  _ Shit. _

“Human. Human. Human. Must be parents. Wolf. Wolf.” She easily dismisses Melissa, Argent and the Sheriff, then Peter and Derek. She freezes when her eyes land on Parrish. “Hellhound.” She leaves her eyes on him but turns her face toward Theo. “ _ The _ hellhound?” 

“Yes,” Theo answers. “Parrish engulfed the Beast in Hellfire after Lydia -the banshee- severed him from his chimera host.”

Amber’s eyes travel down Parrish’s body and back up. “I’m not sure if I should be turned on or terrified.”

The expressions around the room range from surprised to amused to disgusted. Theo rubs a thumb between his eyebrows and sighs.  _ Was I this bad? _

She drags her gaze from Parrish and locks eyes with Liam, who’s standing shoulder to shoulder with Theo. Her nostrils flare as she takes in his scent. No doubt she’s picking up how Theo and Liam’s scents are intertwined on both of them. Her eyes narrow slightly and a low rumble emanates from her chest. It’s not necessarily a threat or a warning.

Liam, to his credit, doesn’t issue his own challenge. He simply keeps eye contact and shifts just enough so that his left shoulder is in front of Theo’s right. Amber’s jaw flexes and she lifts her chin. 

Theo releases a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding. She's accepted Liam. It makes Theo’s life infinitely easier knowing he won’t be torn between the two.

After another moment she looks away to finish her assessment. "Wolf.” 

When she’s facing Corey, she blinks once, twice. “You’re one of us.” She turns to Theo once again. “The Docs let him live?”

“Ah, not at first.” Theo rubs the back of his neck. “When I failed to steal Scott’s power and pack, I started my own pack of chimera. Used the serum to bring them back. I killed two, Scott turned one, and now Corey is the last. We’re the last chimeras.”

“Huh. What type?” 

“Stealth. Chameleon. He turns completely invisible, can turn others invisible with skin to skin contact. A fun side effect of that is when he’s invisible, he goes into another plane.” Theo finds himself automatically briefing Amber, as if for training purposes. He looks away from her, not wanting to fall back into that dynamic.

Amber lets him do it, turning back to Corey with a grim smile. “Green shit burns like acid in the veins, right? But at least you’re alive.” Corey just gives a small nod and looks like he’d rather be invisible at that moment.

Finally, she looks at Mason. “What... the fuck... are you?” She asks slowly.

“Excuse me?” Mason asks, offended. “Human. Obviously.”

“No.” Amber turns to face him completely, causing Corey to shift in front of him and everyone in the room to stiffen. “What is wrong with him?”

Theo knows the question is aimed at him. He grabs Liam’s hand and squeezes it before letting go and moving to stand beside her. He places a hand on her shoulder. “What do you see that we don’t? He’s regular Mason to us.”

Amber tilts her head. “He’s like us, but he’s not one of us. He’s definitely been operated on, but he retains no power? I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it’s because he hosted the Beast,” Theo suggests.

Amber goes completely still. “What?”

Theo looks at her warily. “Mason was the genetic chimera who hosted the Beast. I don’t know if they gave him powers or not, but once Lydia freed him from the Beast, he came back human. Or, I guess, mostly human.”

Amber’s breathing hitches before she wrestles it under control. “What was it?” She asks, still staring at Mason. “What was the missing variable? What makes you so goddamn special?”

“Special?” Mason asks. “Special!? My life was taken away from me. Sebastian Valet took over my mind and body and erased me from existence. Picking through my memories and hurting my friends. How the hell could you think that was special?”

She leaned toward him and hisses. “My life was  _ literally _ dedicated to the Beast and depended on whether or not I could host it. Countless hours on the table being sliced into, rearranged, parts taken out and replaced with other things. Do you remember digging yourself out of the ground, because I do. Thirteen fucking times and every time I was a failure. Over and over and over. I would have welcomed the Beast and oblivion with open arms, so yes, Mason, you’re special.  _ Why?” _

“He’s good,” Theo answers quietly.

Amber turns to him. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“The Surgeon told me, before the Beast transformed for the first time unassisted, that I was not a complete failure. That I had been instrumental in figuring out what they needed. He said I was ordinary evil.”

“Ordinary?” She flashes her eyes with a hint of fang.

Theo huffs. “Yeah, I was offended, too. Apparently, to create extraordinary evil, one must corrupt something, someone, truly good.”

The room is silent for a moment as Amber processes this information. “I never stood a chance. You did, there at the very beginning. But they fucked us. All the surgeries, all the lies, all the killing… the training. All for nothing. They turned us into fucking  _ monsters.  _ For nothing.” She leans back. “That’s why they killed me. They knew they were getting nowhere and they didn’t need two of us as deadweight.” 

The room is silent as everyone looks at them. Theo reaches out and tangles his fingers in the sleeve of her sweater. “Maybe that is why. The more I think about it, there could be a dozen reasons why. But they’re dead now, and you’re here. So, fuck them. Besides, if you’ll learn anything from these guys,” he gestures vaguely around the room, “it’s that you don’t have to be a monster. I learned that the hard way, but it doesn’t have to be like that for you.”

Theo watches as Amber’s face slips back into its indifferent mask. He’s a little disappointed, but not surprised. “We’ll see about that,” she says, then looks around the room once more. “Did I interrupt something important?”

Scott is studying her like she’s a puzzle that he can see all the pieces to but can’t figure out how they all fit together. “We were just about to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Jim Carey one. Since Theo’s never seen it. Would you like to join us?”

“What, no questions and concerns?” Amber points to herself.

“Of course, but it is still Christmas and I’d like to make the most of it. Tomorrow, after everyone has had a chance to unpack everything we’ve learned, we can come back and ask questions and say whatever we need to say.” Scott looks at Theo, who’s still got one hand tangled in her sleeve. “The rest of us obviously have concerns, but for Theo, having you here is a bit of a Christmas miracle, don’t you think? Let’s let him have tonight and tomorrow we can deal with the heavy stuff.”

Amber’s face is blank, but Theo can tell she’s baffled by Scott. She doesn’t seem to know what to say so she just nods and gestures for him to lead on. 

Scott smiles slightly and turns toward the living room and everyone starts to follow. 

Theo sits between Amber and Liam on some cushions where the coffee table usually sits. Liam leans forward to look at Amber. “Have you seen this one?”

“A couple of times when I was a kid. I vaguely remember it. It was my best friends favorite Christmas movie.” She shrugs.

Someone sucks in a breath behind them and Theo looks back to see Derek looking at Amber like he’s seen a ghost. He opens his mouth to say something, but Amber jerks her head to the left without looking back. “Your alpha said tomorrow, Derek Hale. Ask your questions then.”

Derek sits back, eyebrows furrowing. She’d apparently answered his most immediate question with that statement.

Only half of Theo’s attention was dedicated to the movie. It was funny but Theo’s mind kept wandering to Amber and how she could possibly be there after all these years. She’d told Scott that she had felt the tugging for about a year and she started following it only a few months ago. 

Theo thinks about the tugging he felt in his own gut. He can’t quite pinpoint where that feeling had started for himself. He remembers feeling it after the Ghost Riders had left and he could have left town. He’d wanted to leave, but he wasn’t ready to live a life without Liam in it, so he’d stayed. And when the hunters and the Anuk-Ite business went down, he’d been happy with the decision because he got to continue helping Liam. That they got closer during the ordeal and became friends was a happy bonus.

He remembers the tug pulling at him constantly and how he’d begun to think that the happier he felt in Beacon Hills with the younger members of the pack and Liam’s family, the more that tug had wanted him to leave because it had gotten stronger and stronger over the last few months. Now, he realizes that it was Amber the entire time. The tug felt stronger because she’d been getting closer. And now she’s here.

She’s alive. His best friend. His packmate. His other half.

She’s  _ alive. _ But how? Why?

Theo’s not sure he wants to know the answer. 

When the movie is over, Scott asks Amber if she has a place to stay. She tells him she has a room at a motel off of the main highway. Theo knows there's a sixty percent chance she's not paying for it.

Amber stands and claps her hands once. "Alright!" She smiles sweetly like she had when she first arrived. "This has been… interesting to say the least. But I think I'll take my leave and see you all tomorrow. Just give me a time and place."

Scott opens his mouth to tell her but Stiles cuts in. "Okay, no. I can't wait until tomorrow for this. How the hell do you do that? We saw you almost rip Mason's head off. We saw that creepy blank expression you were wearing before the movie. You can't just switch back to sunshine mode and expect us to just take you at face value. Knowing Theo can do it is bad enough, but watching you do it is a whole new level of fucked up. How can you even do that? Why?"

She arches an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Acting is a thing I'm sure you've heard of before. But to answer the real question you're asking, subterfuge is camouflage and camouflage is survival. These are rules we learned very, very early in our time with the Dread Doctors. And since you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, we learned to steal the fucking beehive."

"Good way to get stung," Lydia says from beside Stiles who now has a thoughtful look on his face. 

Amber spares her a glance. "Pain is manageable."

Theo barely suppresses his wince at those words, remembering when he'd said something similar to Donovan. Right before sending him off to attack Stiles. Time to derail this train of thought.

He asks Scott, "When do you want us here tomorrow? Or wherever."

"Let's meet at the animal clinic. Maybe Deaton will have an idea about why and how Amber is alive." He gives them a time and Theo walks Amber out.

Where last time he'd followed her, he'd only paid attention to her. Now he sees where she's heading and chuckles when he sees her ride. "Where, oh where, did you get this?"

"Want me to tell you I bought it?" She asks, pulling open the driver's door on a canary yellow Jeep Wrangler.

"Only if you stole it."

Amber snorts. "I actually won it in a poker game. Did I cheat? Of course. But I got my baby here, so I feel no remorse."

"That totally counts as not stealing," Stiles nods his approval before climbing into his own Jeep. When Roscoe finally coughs to life on the third try, he salutes them and drives away.

"What has he done to that poor machine?" 

Theo turns and laughs at the comical look of horror on Amber's face. "He knows  _ just _ enough about the engine to keep it running. Barely."

"Clearly."

Theo laughs again then clears his throat. "Hey, so, give me your phone number and I'll text you the address to the clinic." It feels awkward to have to ask for her number. They'd never had to do that before. 

"Oh. I don't have a phone." When Theo just stares at her, Amber shrugs. "I was alone. No one to call or text. No point in having one."

"Right," Theo says sadly. "Right. Okay, here." He hands her his phone. "Take mine for tonight. I'll text you from Liam's phone. Please don't delete anything and don't judge me for whatever you find when you inevitably snoop. Also, there are dick pics in the private folder, so you might as well not bother looking."

Amber scoffs and takes the phone. "Thanks, Theo." She climbs into the Jeep and closes the door. Through the open window, she says, "I'm glad to know you didn't abandon me, Fangs. The last six months have been rough on my own."

"Never again, A. As long as you stay with me, I won't leave you alone." 

Amber smiles at him. Her rare, real smile, then starts the car and drives off. 


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Theo watches Amber climb out of her Jeep and smiles to himself when he sees what she's wearing. He hadn't thought too much about it, but the white jeans and pale green sweater she'd been wearing the night before weren't really her style. The black, long-sleeved leotard under her low slung skinny jeans, ripped to show off the fishnet stockings beneath was definitely more like what Theo remembered. She shrugs on a checkered flannel as she saunters toward him in four-inch ankle boots. 

"Please tell me the reason we're meeting at the animal clinic is not some obnoxious joke."

Theo huffs out a laugh. "No. Scott's emissary works here. He does, too, during summer breaks."

"Still a little too on the nose." Amber wrinkles her own.

"Alright, I'll give you that."

Liam steps closer to them. "Hey. I dug this out for you." He pulls a phone and charger out of his hoodie pocket, handing it to Amber. "It's a few years old, but it should still work fine. It did when I upgraded anyway. It'll need a new sim card, of course, but starting a new plan with a phone already is a lot cheaper."

Amber takes the phone with her brow furrowed. "Ah, thanks, Liam." She pulls Theo's phone from her back pocket and hands it to him. "Here."

Theo can tell she has no idea how to approach Liam's thoughtfulness. He remembers the feeling. He takes the phone and stuffs it into his own pocket before turning toward the front entrance of the clinic, leading them inside.

The rest of the pack is already there waiting for them. Theo doesn't see Deaton.

"He's on a house call," Scott answers when Theo asks. He turns to Amber. "It occured to me last night that most of us really didn't introduce ourselves."

"You blurting out what we are kind of distracted us," Malia snarks.

"Fair enough." Amber nods in agreement. 

Scott's eyes meet Theo's and he silently asks if he wants to make the introductions. Theo nods and steps up beside Amber. 

"That's Malia Tate. She lived as a coyote in the preserve for eight years so she doesn't have much of a filter. You'll probably never get along." Amber snorts. "Lydia Martin; MIT student, powerful banshee. You know who Derek is. That's his uncle, Peter. He's technically not part of the pack but I'm assuming you're more interesting than whatever he usually does during the day."

"Perhaps I just didn't want your evil twin near my only daughter unsupervised," Peter drawls.

Theo rolls his eyes. "We're not twins and you know Malia is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." He turns back to Amber. "Fun fact: Malia is the biological child of Talia Hale's youngest brother and the Desert Wolf."

"Jesus," Amber huffs under her breath.

"Yep. Moving on. Behind him is Chris Argent."

"As in  _ Argent  _ Argent?"

"Yep. Part-time hunter, part-time arms dealer. Full-time McCall pack ally. It's a long and complicated story." When Amber nods in understanding, Theo points at Stiles. "Stiles Stilinski; sheriff's son, currently enrolled in the junior FBI program."

Amber holds up her hand. "Wait, wait, wait. Skinemax Stiles?"

Theo bites his lip to keep from laughing and Scott snorts before covering his mouth. Stiles glares at Theo. "You swore to take that to your grave!"

"I mean…" Theo coughs. "I've been in many graves. So."

Lydia raises her eyebrow at Stiles. "Skinemax? Really?"

Stiles' arms flail as he lets out a frustrated groan. "I was eight! I didn't know any better!"

"Buffy the Vampire Layer, though?" Amber asks dubiously.

"I thought it was a typo!"

Everyone bursts out laughing and Stiles crosses his arms, grumbling. 

Theo takes a deep breath for composure and catches Amber's attention, then gestures toward the "puppy pack". "Mason Hewett, I'm sure you remember."

"How could I forget?" Amber shifts uncomfortably and faces Mason. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry for snapping at you last night. That was just… a hard thing to hear right after being told I'd been literally murdered, if for no other reason than I couldn't accomplish what you managed to do. I know it's not something you wanted or asked for. I know the Dread Doctors didn't give you the choice and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Uh, thanks." Mason runs the back of his neck. "Apology accepted. Though, I am a little concerned as to why you're still looking at me  _ like that." _

"Because you still don't make sense. But we can address that later." She looks expectantly at Theo.

"Right. Uh, Mason's boyfriend, Corey Bryant. And, last but certainly not least," -Theo can't help but grin proudly-  _ "my _ boyfriend, Liam Dunbar."

Liam grabs his hand and smiles back at him. Amber's eyes follow the movement and Theo notices the softening around her eyes. Then she looks around the room. "I guess the rest of the grown ups from last night and Hottie Hellhound all have day jobs."

Theo snorts. God, he'd missed her. "Jordan Parrish is one of Sheriff Stilinski's deputies. And Ms. McCall is a nurse so she's basically always at the hospital."

"We were lucky she got last evening off for the holiday." Scott smiles. "Okay, so that's it for the intros, I think. Like I said earlier, Deaton will be a little while, so, if you don't mind, you can answer a few questions while we wait."

Amber shrugs. "Ask away."

Derek is the first to speak. "You were Owen's best friend."

Amber turns her head calmly toward Derek and just looks at him.

"Uh, Owen?" Stiles asks.

"My baby brother. His best friend was a little human girl named Amber. She triggered his protective instincts. Small for her age, always smelled sad, had a heart condition." Derek's gaze held Amber's. "That was you."

"Yes."

"He was devastated when you… moved away."

Theo notices the faint tightening of her jaw, knows she's debating on whether to speak to Derek about his brother. He shifts his shoulders to catch her attention. When her eyes meet his, Theo nods toward Derek, encouraging her to speak.

"Leaving Owen… leaving Owen was the hardest part about  _ moving away. _ I didn't want to leave him behind." Amber looks down at her hands. "They promised me they'd bring me back when I was strong enough, that I'd get to see him again. And then we heard about the fire." She looks back up at Derek. "That I didn't take the news well is an understatement."

Theo remembers that day. She'd lashed out at the Dread Doctors and they'd punished her for it. He grimaces at the memory, watching Amber push the finger and thumb of her right hand onto her eyes and take a deep breath before wrenching herself back under control.

Derek leans back, pressing against the palm Stiles had placed on the back of his neck for comfort. He scowls. "Probably for the best. Or you would've done to him what Theo did to Scott."

Theo flinches.

"Derek," Scott whispers in quiet admonishment.

Amber takes in Theo's reaction and the general mood change of the room. "I don't know what Theo did to Scott, but I would've never hurt Owen. If anything, I would've asked for his help."

"Yeah, that's what Theo did." Stiles gestures at him.

"Technically, I asked to join the pack," Theo points out. "It honestly never occurred to me to ask for help against the Dread Doctors. I was too worried about my own ass being vulnerable after the Beast was resurrected and they didn't need me anymore to think of an alternative. I thought I needed power. And what werewolf is more powerful than the true alpha? I had a one track mind. Amber was never like that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, T." Amber shakes out her shoulders. "What else do you want to know?"

"What kind of chimera are you?" Corey asks.

She smirks at him. "I am a manufactured Löwenmensch."

"Shit. Does that mean you're part Mr. Douglas?" Liam asks.

Theo snorts as Amber gives him a confused look. "Hauptmann," he tells her. "He's asking about Hauptmann. And the answer is no. She's not part Mr. Douglas."

"That would have made me three quarters part wolf and a quarter part lion. So, no. A werewolf and a were lion each separately contributed DNA to make my chimera."

Stiles snorts. "Contributed. I'm sure they willingly donated."

"Of course they didn't." Amber nods matter of factly then tilts her head at Theo. "Why are they calling Hauptmann Mr. Douglas?"

"He escaped the tank after the Dread Doctors were killed. I guess nobody checked the operating theater after everything went down?" Theo looks around and sees the sheepish looks on various faces. 

"Yeah, we didn't think it would be an issue." Scott scratches the back of his neck.

Mason shrugs sheepishly. "Who knew the rotting corpse in the big tank was actually alive?"

"Theo did," Amber points out. 

"I, uh, wasn't around for a while. Though I  _ did  _ tell you guys that he was alive  _ and  _ a Nazi." Theo silently begs the others to drop it while also trying to convince Amber to let it go. "That's a different story for another time."

She eyeballs him, then lets him off the hook. For now. "Fine. What else?"

"Did you  _ really _ kill your uncle?" Malia asks.

"Yes." 

Malia growls and Amber sends her a cold smile. Theo is about to intervene, but Lydia steps forward.

"Why?"

Amber drops the smile as her eyes fixate on the redhead. "Because he deserved it."

"Did he?"

"Yes," Amber growls.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Stiles flails his arms toward his girlfriend. "Okay? You're just going to take her word for it?"

"It was the variable," Amber says, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "The difference between me and Theo. The Dread Doctors had figured out how to successfully make their chimeras. But they wanted to test the variables to see which conditions would bring them closer to their Beast."

She motions between herself and Theo. "For us, they wanted to find out if killing someone you loved most or someone you hated most made a difference. They had to spend days fucking with Theo's head to convince him that Tara wanted him to have her heart."

Theo flinches and Amber automatically reaches out to cup the back of his neck. He lets out a shuddering breath at the familiar feeling. When Liam squeezes his hand, he squeezes back.

"All they had to do for me was show me his paralyzed body, hand me a knife, and assure me that he could never hurt me again. They also promised me a good heart." She tucks her hands into her back pockets. "Killing him was easy. Especially when he tried to use my own words to beg for his life."

"He was the person you hated most. Why?" Scott asks.

She looks at the alpha, her gaze going a little vacant. "I was such a pretty little thing. With such pretty eyes. I was named for them;  _ like sunshine through a brandy bottle." _

_ "Oh."  _ Lydia takes a step forward as if to try and comfort Amber but she stops at the chimeras viscous stare.

It's Theo's turn to reach out and grasp the back of her neck. She leans into the touch and sucks in a deep breath. "It was almost worth it. Sure, killing him was satisfying and they did give me a new heart, but… life with my uncle was hell. Life with the Dread Doctors was the same, just a different level."

Derek scowls. "A grown man's heart wouldn't have worked for you. You were so small."

"Yeah. My uncle was nothing more than a test. I wouldn't have accepted anything of his anyway. An eight year old boy's heart was just my size though." She tips her head toward Theo. "I suppose they could've given me Tara's heart and Theo something else. Her lungs maybe? Because of his asthma? But I guess it was just easier to play hot potato with our hearts."

"A…" Theo says softly. He knows she's being nasty because her emotions are raw but sometimes she takes it too far. 

She catches his expression and immediately droops. "Sorry, Fangs."

"Anybody else have questions?" Theo asks the room.

"Yeah," Mason pipes up. "How can she tell what everyone is?"

Amber laughs bitterly. "Frequencies. Every species vibrates at different frequencies. A particularly brutal surgery gave me these." She points at her mercury saturated eyes. "My punishment for acting out after learning about the Hale fire. I can now see the frequencies. Without the masks or their torture goggles."

Malia growls at the mention of the goggles. Amber raises an eyebrow. 

"Not my finest moment," Theo mutters. "Though also not my worst."

"Yeah, you shot me with a shotgun after that."

"Oh, please." Amber scoffs. "If he'd wanted to kill you, he would've aimed for your heart or head. He shot you in the stomach and look, you're fine." 

Everyone looks at her. 

Theo's head spins. There is no way she could've known that. Unless she's lying about how long she's been back. But Amber would never be sloppy enough to skip like that. Not the Amber he'd known, anyway. 

"How do you know that?" he demands.


	9. Chapter 9

"How do you know that?" Theo demands again.

Liam presses a palm between his shoulder blades.

Amber's brow furrows. "I- I don't know." She grips her forehead. 

"Oh, there it is." Stiles steps forward, eyes narrowed. "She's better than you were, Theo. I'll give her that."

Theo presses back into Liam's hand. "She always was," he whispers, then stiffens his posture. "Why are you here?"

She turns to him, hurt flashing across her features before she schools her expression. "I told you last night. I followed the tugging."

"One that just so happened to lead to Theo?" Liam steps up beside his boyfriend. He doesn't care who this chick used to be to Theo. Theo is his now. 

She gnashes her teeth, fangs sharp. "Yes."

"How are you here, Amber?" Theo asks again.

"I don't know."

Stiles sneers. "Yeah, but what do you know?"

Amber snaps her head toward him, face blank. Then, she tilts her head and whispers, "I know what's coming. I know what the Dread Doctors created. And I know what Parrish is."

Theo, Stiles, and Scott gasp. Before anyone can ask, Amber backs into the wall with her hands fisted into her temples. Blood trickles down her wrist as her long black claws dig into her palms. She freezes then turns her head toward Theo. 

"Amber?" he asks.

All of the color bleeds from her eyes, leaving white orbs that remind Liam of the wendigo that had attacked him on top of the hospital roof. 

"What the fuck?" Liam squeaks.

Her eerie gaze snaps to him and in the same soft, toneless whisper she says, "...tougher than he looks."

Her eyes begin to roam around the room, pausing on each person to whisper something that Liam assumes is from Theo's interactions with the members of the pack.

Mason. "That's not… my name…"

Corey. "...I'm going to protect you."

Theo's breath hitches and Liam grabs his hand.

Lydia. "Am I doing it right?"

Lydia's face shutters and Theo whines. Liam crowds closer to him.

Malia. "Why should I trust you?"

Stiles. "...a lead pipe wrapped in barbed wire."

A low growl starts to accompany her words.

Argent. "...double-cross…"

And finally, Scott. Her breathing is ragged as she whisper-screams, "HELP ME, SCOTT!"

Scott flinches.

Amber reaches out and snatches Theo away from Liam, shoving him behind her before opening her mouth wide and loosing a wail that sounds like a thousand voices screaming at once. Then, she whips her arms out and Liam's breath is knocked out of him as he's slammed into the wall by an invisible force. He chokes as the force grips his neck and lifts him off the ground.

"Liam!" Theo's voice snaps Liam's attention toward his boyfriend and he opens his eyes to seek him out. "Amber, stop! Let them go!"

Through the haze of his watering eyes, Liam sees Theo try to grip Amber’s shoulders but his hands slip  _ through  _ her. He looks around to see everyone but the Hales also pressed against the wall, feet dangling and clawing at their necks at the invisible vices holding them. Derek and Peter seem to be restrained against the wall, but nothing like the rest of the pack.

When Amber moves, Liam realizes it’s not a trick of his straining eyes that make her appear translucent. Her form flickers from solid to see-through as she glides toward Scott. “I’ll have your heart for what you’ve done, Scott McCall," she addresses the alpha in her thousand-voices. “But first I’ll take every member of your pack who had anything to do with it. I’ll hunt down the not-blind alpha and the hellhound. I’ll find that kitsune bitch and I will  _ eviscerate her!”  _

“Amber!” Theo rushes toward her, through her. “Fuck! Amber, stop! Please!”

“Don’t. Beg.” Her eyes never leave Scott’s redding face.

“Amber, they’re my friends.”

“They hurt you. Betrayed you. Let you be taken by demons!” Amber wails again. Lydia answers her with a scream. “That’s right, banshee. You’ll all pay with your lives for what you’ve done.”

“IT’S OKAY, AMBER!” Theo yells desperately at her, still trying to touch her. “I hurt them first! I didn’t deserve for them to save me from Tara! Amber. Amber, I forgive them!”

“I. Don’t.”

“You can!” Theo grabs Deaton’s office chair and stands on it to plant himself directly in front of her line of sight. “They sent me down there, but Liam saved me. Liam brought me back and he broke the sword so I can never be sent back there. And because of him, they were able to get to know me again. The real me. I was lost, Amber. So fucking lost without you. If you saw what they did to me then you know what I did to them, right? And despite all of that, they’ve forgiven me. And I’ve forgiven them. They’re  _ pack.  _ Just like we always wanted, remember? Please don’t take them away from me. Amber, please.”

“Pack.”

“YES. Yes, pack. Scott is my alpha. And sometimes he makes mistakes but he is a  _ good  _ alpha. A true alpha. Let them go. They’re my friends. My pack. I love them. Please don’t take away anymore people I love. I barely survived losing you.”

Amber’s head jerks and she lowers her arms. Liam feels the pressure ease off of his throat. Everyone gasps, sucking in huge gulps of air. 

“Hurting them would hurt you.” Amber’s voice almost sounds normal again; her form no longer flickers.

Theo nods vehemently. “Very much.”

“Very well.” Everyone crashes to the ground as she lets them go. “But if they ever-”

Amber slumps forward and Theo barely catches her before hits the floor. “Fuck! Amber!”

“What the fuck was that?!” Stiles hollers, voice hoarse. “Last I checked, Mr. Douglas couldn’t do shit like that.”

“Kill her before she wakes up and tries to do it again!” Malia snarls, stomping forward with her claws extended.

“That won’t be necessary, I don’t think, Miss Tate,” a soft voice sounds from the doorway. 

Everyone turns to see Deaton staring at Amber in wonder.

“Do you understand what just happened?” Theo asks the vet, curling around his friend. “Because she couldn’t do that before.”

“Before she died.”

“Yes.”

Deaton nods. “She used to follow you, Theo. She was with you everywhere you went.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“She was a ghost and you were her anchor to this world. The reason she didn’t move on.” Deaton kneels down to brush a ringlet from Amber’s face. “But now, now she is something extraordinary.”

“Deaton, buddy, this is not really the time for you to be frustratingly vague.” Stiles pulls at his hair.

“I am sorry. I just never thought I’d ever witness a wraith in my lifetime.”

“I’m sorry,” Lydia blinks a few times. “But did you just say ‘wraith’?”

“Indeed. Very rare creatures. Also very powerful. Dark druids used to try to create them on purpose but very few ever succeeded. A wraith can only exist under very specific circumstances and it almost never happens at random. The fact that she is with us now is truly astonishing.”

“What are those circumstances, exactly?” Mason asks, rubbing his throat. Liam lays a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I think,” Deaton answers, “It would be best to wait until she wakes to explain. She expended a lot of power and energy just now. And with no training or practice, she’s exhausted all of it at once, like an adrenaline rush aiding a human to lift a car to save a child. She’ll be exhausted, but she’ll be fine and that power will be depleted for a while. She won’t be able to hurt anyone when she wakes up.”

Theo lifts her up and lays her down on the examination table, then immediately turns to Liam and starts running his hands over him. “Are you okay? Fuck, guys, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know anything about this.”

“Hey.” Scott lays a hand on the back of his neck and Theo buries his face in Liam’s shoulder. “Nobody knew. I don’t think even Amber knew.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Stiles paces behind them. “She just comes up out of nowhere  _ saying  _ she can’t remember anything from the last three years. But all of a sudden she knows every interaction between us and Theo and tries to kill us?”

“As I said earlier,” Deaton explains patiently, “she was with Theo the whole time.”

“So you can see ghosts now?”

“I have always been able to see them."

Before anyone can comment, they hear a groan from the table. "Th'fuck?"

Theo grips Liam's hand and leans over to look at Amber. "Hey, Brains. Are you normal?"

"I feel fresh from the grave," Amber groans again. "What the fuck was that?"

Scott catches her attention and nods toward the vet. "I'd say 'you tell us', but it looks like Deaton actually has the answers here."

She follows his nod and squints at Deaton. "I remember you." Her face scrunches up and she presses her palms to her forehead. "How do I remember you?"

"I'm sure, with time, you'll remember most, if not all, of the time you spent with Theo after your death."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Apparently,-" Liam steps closer to the bed and peers down at her "-you haunted Theo,  _ as a ghost,  _ for three years."

"Two years," Mason corrects him. "She's been alive again for a year, right?"

"Yeah, thereabouts," Amber mumbles before curling her lip. "Can I unforget the Kester girl in Denver?"

"As in the hunter Kesters?" Argent asks, eyebrow raised at Theo.

Liam has never seen Theo's face so red. "She had a lot of information about the local pack."

"She also had double Ds and DSL," Amber mutters, grimacing.

"I should've let Malia kill you while you were unconscious."

"Probably." Amber sits up, groaning. "Alright, doc. Tell me why I just about went full Carrie on everyone when that ability has never been part of my repertoire before."

"You are a wraith."

Amber barks out a laugh. "No, I am a lion/wolf hybrid chimera."

"You are a man made chimera, yes. But you are a natural born wraith. Or reborn, I should say."

She blinks once, twice. "Come again?"

Deaton takes a deep breath and leans back against his counter. "When you died, you tied yourself to a living person instead of moving on. However, when Theo was sent to the Skinwalker's prison, he was essentially dead, leaving you mostly tetherless. When Liam unlocked the prison door, the magic that brought Theo back traveled down the tie between your life and Theo's, bringing you back as well. Theo rose where he died, and so did you. Now, because you tied yourself to Theo in death, your new life is intertwined with his. You devoted your afterlife to him, and so your second life will be the same. How did you feel when you attacked everyone?"

"Pissed off."

"Why?"

"Because they hurt him." Amber brings her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. "He's mine to protect and they hurt him when all I could do was watch. So I wanted to hurt them back." 

Liam bites back a growl at her choice of words, his wolf agitated at the idea of someone else trying to claim Theo as theirs.

“That is the nature of the wraith." Deaton gestures at all of her. "It is part protective instinct and part self-preservation. If Theo dies, so do you. Your bond is unique and extraordinary. This second chance at life is a gift, Amber. I’d advise you not to squander it by attacking the people most willing to help you navigate it.”

She blinks owlishly at him. "What about Theo? What if I die?"

"He will live, though he will always feel like something is missing." Deaton wanders toward his bookshelf and pulls off a thin, leather bound book with yellowed pages. "Here. Everything I know about wraiths, I learned from this book. You may borrow it to learn about this new part of yourself."

"Thanks, doc." Amber takes the book.

"Now, you should get some real rest. You've essentially ripped out your power all at once and it will take time for it to regrow."

"You good to drive?" Theo asks her when she sways after sliding off the exam table.

"Um. Fuck." She runs her forehead with one hand and her sternum with the other. "Probably not."

He nods and tugs his keys out of his pocket, and turns to Deaton. "Think it will be alright if she leaves her Jeep here for a bit?"

"It won't be a problem."

"Thanks. We'll pick it up tomorrow at the latest. C'mon, Brains. You're coming home with us." He drapes one of her arms over his shoulders and guides her out the door.

Liam leads the way out and opens doors for them along the way. 

"Wait," Amber croaks. "Don't you live with Dunbar and co.?"

"Yep."

Before he can deposit her into the back seat of the truck, she turns toward Liam. "Are you okay with that?"

"Are you planning to murder my family while we sleep?"

"What? No."

"Then you are more than welcome to stay as long as you need, Amber." Liam smiles at her. "Not like Theo uses his room anyway."

"Thank you," she whispers and lets Theo help her into the truck.

When Theo shuts the door he turns to Liam and wraps him in a hug. "Thank you."

"Oh, Trouble, you don't have to thank me for this. I'm so happy for you that she's here."

Theo squeezes him tighter. "Fuck, I love you."

Liam grins into his neck. "I love you, too."

"Ugh, nevermind," they hear from the truck. "Take me to my motel room if you're gonna be gross." 

Liam laughs and Theo flips her off. They climb into the truck and Theo takes off toward their house. Liam turns in his seat to look at Amber. "Hey." When she looks at him he smiles. "Welcome home."


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as Jenna sees Amber and the boys explain her presence, Liam's mom bundles her up in a couch throw and chatters excitedly about having another girl around for once.

She'd made Theo change the sheets in his room for their guest and ordered Liam to start chopping vegetables for some soup. Amber had looked shellshocked at the tiny woman and their immediate compliance to her orders. Theo remembers the feeling well and shrugs on his way up the stairs with an armful of clean linens. 

Amber gleefully screws up Theo's Netflix watchlist while they make her soup and he quietly gives Jenna a more in-depth breakdown of who Amber is and how she'd gotten to be in Beacon Hills. Jenna hugs him and lets him know how happy she is for him to have his family back. God, he would literally die for these people. 

After a lunch of homemade chicken and dumpling soup, Jenna orders Amber to take a nap. She doesn't need help getting up the stairs but Theo keeps close just in case. He knows he's mother henning her, but despite her annoyance, he can tell she's also pleased by the attention. 

Liam is amused by it all and Theo is pretty sure he's texting Mason all of the details. Whatever. Theo will not be ashamed of caring about the people he loves. 

When they enter his old room she looks around curiously, no doubt noticing the lack of anything screaming _ Theo  _ laying around. "Never took you for a minimalist, Fangs."

"Didn't have much when I moved in and most of what I did have has migrated to Liam's room." Theo nods his head toward the door across the hallway. "There are some old clothes in the dresser and some junk in the closet, but that's about-" he pauses, eyes widening at the thought of something he'd nearly forgotten about. 

"What?" 

Theo stalks toward the closet and pulls out his duffle bag. Old habits have him keeping the bug-out bag filled with clothes and a pillow and blanket, but he'd moved it out of his truck a long time ago. He opens a small pocket on the side of the bag and Amber's soft "oh" means she probably remembers what he put in there. 

He grabs the items and holds them out to her. She accepts them, cradling them in her hand. "Thank you for keeping them safe for me."

"A part of me always hoped you'd come back for them."

She snorts softly. "I came back for you, but I'm glad you had them." She drapes her mother's dog tags around her neck and jabs her father's dangling dagger earring through the lobe of her left ear above the two small studs already pierced there. 

He smiles at her. "Now you look like you." He returns his bag ro the closet and heads for the door. "Enjoy your nap. Holler if you need anything."

Theo and Liam play video games while she sleeps. He enjoys spending time with his boyfriend without worrying about anything for a few hours. He knows Liam is curious about Amber, hell all of them probably are, but Theo knows Liam will wait until he's ready to talk about her. 

When they reach a checkpoint, Theo pauses the game and drops his controller to wrap his arms around Liam. The werewolf follows suit and holds him close. Theo kisses him under the jaw and murmurs, "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm so fucking glad you took a chance on me."

"You threw me in an elevator and said you were being the bait," Liam says, kissing his temple.

A startled laugh bubbles from Theo's chest and he pulls back to look at Liam. "That's all it took, huh?"

Liam rolls his eyes. "It was the beginning, for sure. You'd  _ just  _ told me that you'd leave me to the Ghost Riders and run in the other direction. And then you pull that shit?"

"Well, you did just shoot the Ghost Rider that had been choking me while you were also being choked  _ after _ you'd said you weren't going to help me or save me. So." Theo shrugs, smiling dopily at him. 

"Yeah, and you shoved a Ghost Rider in a closet right before it could shoot me." Liam leans in to kiss him. "You were a lying liar who lied, Theo Raeken, and as soon as I figured that out I started ignoring what you said and started watching what you did. And at some point I figured out that you genuinely cared about me. It really wasn't a stretch for me to realize that I cared about you too. And now here we are."

"Here we are," Theo repeats softly, tugging Liam into his lap grabbing their controllers so they can continue playing. 

That's how they're still situated when Amber finds her way into their room, plopping down into Liam's desk chair. She barefoot and her curls are pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head. Her eyeliner is smudged and she's wearing one of Theo's t-shirts as well as- "Are those my shorts?" Liam asks. 

She tugs at the hem of the maroon track shorts. "Yeah, I guess. They smelled like both of you just like everything else in the dresser. But I didn't figure Theo would be in cross country. He hates running."

Theo feels Liam's pleased rumble against his chest and he rubs his cheek against his shoulder affectionately. Scott may be their alpha and Liam defers to him while he's home on holidays and breaks, but while Scott's gone, Liam takes charge and it's hard to stop the alpha instincts once you've adopted them. He doesn't need red eyes to want to keep his pack safe and happy and close. His wolf is pleased that this new member wants to smell like him. 

"You guys are adorable. It's gross." Amber curls her lip and twirls in the chair.

"You're in our room, Brains. You don't wanna see, you can leave." Theo laughs at her. 

"Meh, meh, meh." She pauses her spinning to stare up at the photos of their pack and friends on Liam's corkboard. She tilts her head. "Am I allowed to ask about Hayden?"

Liam sighs and his scent dips a little at the thought of his first love. Theo kisses the back of his neck as Liam says, "After the Ghost Riders, her sister put in a transfer request. They're up in Oregon now. The pack up there took her in after Scott talked to their alpha."

"Good for them, I guess, getting out of this hellhole, but I'm sorry, did you say Ghost Riders?" Amber stares at them.

Theo winces. "Yeah. So, I don't know if they always planned to come here or if Hauptmann getting free triggered their arrival, you know, unfinished business and all. But, yeah they were the reason I was freed from the skinwalker's prison. Liam thought I could use Josh's powers to control them since they ride the lightning. Unfortunately, I no longer had those powers, but I managed to charm my way out if getting sent back to hell."

"I'm not sure 'charm' is the word I'd use," Liam snarks.

"Excuse me, you just told me otherwise."

"I said nothing about charm. You grew on me like mold."

Amber laughs at them, then asks, "How is the town still here if the Ghost Riders were here? Shouldn't it be, well, a ghost town?"

"It's complicated," Theo starts, "but the best I can sum it up is that Mr. Douglas soaked up the Ghost Rider power from his whip wound in the tank for 70 years, giving him basic immunity from their whips. We accidentally gift wrapped a Ghost Rider for him to kill and he ate its pineal gland, giving him access to the portals  _ and _ control over our hellhound. He kidnapped Corey and used his abilities to move between planes to merge our plane and theirs. Unfortunately for him, that made it possible for us to divert their train before it could pick up the townspeople from their stations. Once the train moved on, we freed Corey and the Ghost Hunters moved on. Douglas tried to order them back but they didn't like that. They turned him into one of them and rode a bolt of lightning out of town."

"Holy shit." Amber blinks a few times. "And all this happened in the last year?"

Liam snorts. "That was only a couple of weeks. Beacon Hills is chaos. Wait until you hear about the Anuk-Ite."

"The what?"

Before the boy could elaborate, their phones chime simultaneously. A group chat message. Theo's phone is on his bedside table. Liam's is on the desk beside Amber. 

"Care to grab that and see what it says?" Liam asks her.

She shrugs and taps the screen to see the message preview. "Uh. It just says: 'Monroe. Pack meeting in an hour.'" Both boys freeze and she notices. "What?"

"Monroe." Liam's jaw flexes as grinds his teeth at her name. "She was one of the leaders of the hunters we were about to tell you about. Her predecessor, while evil to his bones, wasn't as cult-leaderesque as she is. She likes to recruit scared teenagers and send them off to fight werewolf packs with machine guns. We got Gerard last time, but she got away. We've been waiting for her to pop back up ever since. I'm guessing this means she finally been spotted."

"She's a victim of the Beast, but the trauma twisted her up." Theo explains a little more. "She can't tell good from bad and she never learned the hunter's code. Her motto is: 'If it's not human, kill it'."

"Sounds like a real piece of work," Amber curls her lip.

"And then some." Liam scoots off of Theo's lap. "I'm gonna go tell mom we probably won't be here for supper."

Theo sighs and saves their progress before shutting off the console. "You'll probably wanna fix your face before we head out."

She immediately drags her fingers under her eyes, grimacing at the black lines across them when she pulls them away. Then she looks up at him. "Wait. I'm going?"

Theo frowns at her. "Why wouldn't you?"

"I'm not pack."

"And you never will be with that attitude. Prove you can be an ally then you can work up to being pack."

"I tried to kill them."

"So did I. So did Peter. Hell, even Stiles did, though he was possessed by a Nogitsune."

Her mouth drops in surprise before it screws up in recognition. "I remember when you learned that." She sends him a judging look. "I wish I could unremember that."

"Unremember what?" Liam asks, walking back into the room.

"Theo's boner for Void Stiles," Amber answers gleefully. 

Liam looks at Theo, scandalized.

"That's not- it wasn't like that!" Theo stutters. It was kinda like that.

Amber cackles and leaves the room. "I'm gonna go get dressed."

_ "Stiles?" _ Liam asks.

"Evil me thought evil Stiles would make an excellent evil partner." Theo sniffs primly.

"And you could make sweet, evil love and have evil babies together." Liam flashes a shit eating grin at him.

Amber cackles again from the other room. "Theo likes his hands!"

Liam's shoulders shake as he laughs silently. Theo can feel his face heating up. Why had he thought her being back in his life would be a good thing? She knows too much. "I hate both of you."

"Sure you do." Liam kisses his burning cheek.

Amber steps out of her room wearing her own clothes and her eyeliner fixed. She's left her hair up and she's grinning at Theo. "As if you could hate me."

"Loathe, despise, detest." Theo growls at her. She just keeps grinning at him.

"Don't worry, Theo." Liam pats his leg. "I won't tell Stiles about your massive crush on him."

"I might!" Amber says cheerfully and makes her way downstairs.

"I don't die if she goes first. Deaton said so," Theo mutters to himself.

Liam snorts and pulls him to his feet. "C'mon, Trouble. Let's get to Scott's."

Theo squeezes his hand before he can let go. "I don't have a crush on Stiles anymore."

"Wouldn't matter if you did." Liam smiles up at him. "I know that you're mine and I'm yours. Stiles's inexplicably sexy hands can't come between that."

Theo chuckles softly. "Goddamn right."

He kisses the love of his life and grabs his phone and keys, then follows his best friend down the stairs.

*

Tension returns to Liam's shoulders as they get closer to Scott's house. Amber's revelation was a nice distraction, but now he remembers why they're all meeting tonight. As much as he wants to take Monroe down, part of him is afraid to confront her again. 

When they're exiting the truck, they hear Stiles's Jeep rumbling down the road. Amber groans and bangs her forehead against Theo's shoulder. He pats her head in a  _ there, there _ gesture. She lets out a fake sob and he hums before saying, "I know, I know. The bad man neglected the poor machine."

"He's still evil, I just know it!" Amber despairs dramatically. 

Liam is still staring at them, amused when Stiles parks the Jeep beside Theo's truck. "What's going on?" the older boy asks, eyeballing Amber warily.

"Apparently," Liam answers, "you've neglected that poor machine and Amber is very broken up about it."

"What?" Stiles blinks, completely baffled.

"Ok, no but seriously," Amber straightens and sobers up. "What all is wrong with that poor Jeep? How could you let such a lovely machine deteriorate so badly?"

"I know it's got a bad alternator. The belts get changed as they break, and from the squealing, I'm guessing another one will be going soon." Stiles pulls at his lip. "Got the transmission patched up again, but there's no telling how long that'll last this time around. He's got new brakes?"

"Well, thank god for that," Amber says drily.

"Look, I love this Jeep, okay? But he's old and replacement parts plus installation are too much for a sheriff's salary when he's also got himself and a teenage son to feed. Not to mention medical bills because this town attracts all the fun, violent creatures." Stiles makes a sarcastic gesture at her. "So excuse me if high end maintenance was low on our list of priorities the last few years."

"That's fair," Amber concedes. "I just really hate seeing a Jeep falling apart. They're my favorite."

"I hear you. As soon as I can afford it, I plan to get the engine rebuilt and fix everything else. There's just no way I can get it done now."

"I can do it."

"What?"

"Rebuild the engine. I can do it."

Stiles blinks at her. Liam is pretty sure they're both wearing the same stupid expression. But Theo steps up beside Amber. "She can. The Docs immediately regretted their decision to terminate her the first time one of their machines broke and they had to fix it themselves."

"I made several, more energy efficient changes to their equipment. And poor Theo had no idea what I did so they had to figure it out for themselves." Amber grins. 

"I still can't afford replacement parts," Stiles sighs. 

Amber waves that away. "Don't worry about it. You let me get my hands on that engine and I'll take care of it."

"How?" Liam asks.

"The Dread Doctors never bothered to close my bank account. Three years of interest adds up. And considering how much was in it before, I'm set for a while."

"What." Theo stares at her.

"What, what?"

_ "Those accounts are still active?" _

"Uh, yeah? How do you think I afforded to make a cross country road trip?"

"Beg, steal, charm, cheat." Theo's voice is strained as he repeats her words from the night before.

"Well, yeah. But, like, that was mostly for the fun of it?" Amber looks concerned. "Fangs, why is your forehead vein pulsing?"

"Three months. I slept in my truck for three months, hustling pool for gas money. When I could've just dipped into the hoard this whole time??"

"Slept in your truck?" Amber asks the same time Stiles asks, "Hoard?"

Liam's brows furrow as he grabs Theo's hand. "Three months," he repeats. He hasn't really thought about how long Theo had been out here on his own before the hunters had kidnapped and he'd ended up back in the pack's orbit. 

Theo squeezes his hand. "Not your fault, Littlewolf."

"Isn't it though? You were supposed to be my responsibility. I should've done better."

"I wouldn't have let you and you know it."

Before Liam can answer, the sheriff pulls up to the curb and he and Parrish get out of the cruiser. Stiles abandons them to begin bombarding his father with questions that Stilinski says he'll answer once everyone is inside. 

Liam sees Amber send an appreciative once over down Parrish's body. "Well, hello there, deputy. Missed you this morning."

"Yeah, I heard you planned to hunt me down." Parrish eyes her warily. 

"Not my finest moment, I'll admit. I'm not sure I could actually bring myself to harm one hair on your pretty little head, to be honest, hot stuff." Amber smirks at him and follows the Stilinski's inside.

Theo huffs at Parrish's perplexed expression. "I'd say you'll get used to it, but you might not. Let's head in."

They follow the others inside and even Liam can tell how tense everyone is. Malia is pacing, and Stiles is still trying to get information out of his dad. Argent stands in the back of the room quietly discussing something with Derek. Peter looks unbothered, eating an apple at the kitchen table, but Liam knows the omega wants revenge against Monroe. Scott is staring into the middle distance, his leg bouncing rapidly. Lydia steadily rips a piece of paper to shreds. Liam plops down on his preferred chair, Theo dropping to the floor in front of his legs. Amber leans against the wall beside their chair while Parrish goes to stand by the sheriff.

“Alright,” Stilinski says to the room. “That’s everyone? Good.” He drops a file onto the coffee table. “Monroe was spotted in Redding.”

“That’s only two hours from here.” Scott frowns, pulling the files toward himself to open it and spread the reports and surveillance photos out.

“Agent McCall got a call from Redding PD when she was recorded leaving a weapons expo.” Parrish bends down to pick out a photo of her and two of her most loyal goons walking out of a warehouse with rifle cases in each hand. “She seems to be resupplying her arsenal. No telling how many small town gunshows and expos she’s been to in the last eight months.”

“How is she getting funding for this kind of firepower?” Theo asks, eyeballing the report about her purchases.

"Tiberius Ranfordson the Third." Argent steps forward. "A trust fund baby that we think wandered onto one of Monroe's rallies." He sets his phone down to show everyone a skinny blond kid who couldn't be more than nineteen. "He approached an alpha in Oregon to give him the bite and the alpha refused. As did the next six alphas he asked."

"Are we keeping an eye on the packs that refused him?" Lydia asks. "Chances are he'd want Monroe to go after them for refusing to let him join."

Stilinski grimaces. "The pack belonging to the first alpha to refuse him has already been destroyed. One member managed to escape to tell their closest allies, who notified Argent. The survivor said he'd been there."

"We've got the rest of the packs on evacuation notice just in case and we've started notifying the known alphas in the surrounding areas to be alert." Argent takes his phone back. "Other than that pack, Monroe's been quiet. The speculation is that she used them as an example of what she'd do with Ranfordson's backing."

"She's gone back underground for now." Stilinski sighs. "But now that she's shown her face, we know where to start looking again."

"What are we going to do when we find her?" Liam asks, gripping the armrests of his chair.

"We'll take her down," Stilinski promises.

Liam knows that means different things to different members of the pack. But as far as he's concerned, Tamora Monroe can rot in the darkest pits of hell. He can't stand the thought of her out there building another army to come at them.

"Do you think she'll come back here?" Scott asks.

"I think-" Stilinski says seriously "-she'll be compelled to come back. Her greatest failure. She won't let it go."

Stiles sighs. "Are we really going to just wait for her to come to us?"

"No." Scott answers. "No, I don't think we are."

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 coming soon(ish)! Hopefully by March. Yell at me if you want it sooner lol.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments keep me going!


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